CAIRO: This summer, Egyptian women have broken taboos to speak out against the constraints of traditional marriage rites and the prevalence of sexual harassment in the country. Despite their recent push for greater legal and social recognition, however, Egyptian women are receiving conflicting messages about their rights, especially when it comes to Egypt s family law. Civil society organizations are launching awareness campaigns calling for gender equality and equal legal protection in the family structure. Yet at the same time, the religious establishment is telling women that they already have sufficient family rights under existing laws. During the past decade, Egypt and other Arab countries have witnessed legislative reforms that have resulted in constitutional amendments granting women equal rights. For example, Egyptian women who are married to non-Egyptians can now pass their nationality on to their children. In addition, for the first time Egyptian women have secured the right to divorce, and husbands can no longer prevent their wives from traveling abroad alone. Rapists cannot escape court penalty by marrying the women they have raped, and family courts have been established to mediate between spouses and speed up divorce proceedings. But, family law remains untouched. The present code of laws dates back to 1920 and is based on assumptions meant to keep the traditional patriarchal system intact. One such assumption is that husbands will provide for their families and women will be subordinate to their husbands. This personal status law gives men the unconditional right to divorce, while women have to resort to court approval, which is often granted only if women relinquish all financial rights - including their dowry, or prove that their husbands have been abusive. However the reality of today is - and has been for sometime - very different. More women are working and contributing to the support of their households. Yet the family s gender roles have not been challenged. They are legally upheld and socially reinforced, preventing an important social and cultural transformation from taking place. There are loud calls for change. Civil society organizations in Egypt, and especially women s groups, are demanding the reinterpretation of sharia (a legal framework based on Islamic principles), with regard to women s rights. The religious community, however, advocates that women have sufficient rights within the family. They tell women that they have the right to demand their husbands provide for them and their children, to keep their own income and earnings for personal use, and to earn money from their husbands when they fulfill their motherly responsibilities such as breastfeeding. The religious establishment is thus perpetuating a strict gender-based division of roles. Unfortunately, access to legal support to change or challenge existing laws is a problem for many poor women. The cost of hiring lawyers is high, the time spent in court to get a verdict can be unfeasible for women who work both inside and outside of the home, and there is no guarantee the verdict will come out in their favor. Frequently, judges and police officers are influenced by the religious establishment and patriarchal culture that supports gender inequality and reinforces traditional gender roles. To make matters worse, religious extremists consider preserving the existing role of women in family as a critical battle in the fight to uphold social ethics and morality. Women are therefore pressured in many cases to wear the hijab (headscarf), to practice female genital mutilation and to prove their virginity. Media and school curricula also play a major role in preserving the traditional roles of men and women, portraying females as weak, emotional, dependent and in need of protection. Voices for change, however, are getting louder. Several institutions in Egypt, including the National Council of Women, the Ministry of Justice and the National Democratic Party, as well as a number of feminist non-governmental organizations, are working to reform both the personal status law and the family court procedures law. Rather than have gender roles dictated to them, at this difficult crossroads Egyptian women are demonstrating the courage to question these roles, and to seek full participation and rights as equal citizens. Fatma Khafagy, PhD, is a senior policy advisor on women s rights at the German Technical Assistance in Egypt and a board member of Alliance for Arab Women. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
