OVER the past decade, many Egyptian women have been divorced from their husbands according to the Khula Law, which grants a wife a divorce, provided she renounces her financial rights. More than five million housewives have already taken advantage of this, according to Giza-based National Centre for Criminological and Sociological Research. One wonders whether khula (no fault divorce) has made life better or worse for women with marital problems. Samiha Ibrahim, 55, proudly says that she divorced her husband the khula way, because he always got so angry with her. She put up with it for 25 years for the sake of the children. “When our children got married and left home, my husband started beating me and enough was enough,” says Samiha. Nermin el-Sayyed, 35, explains that she divorced her husband this way, because he never brushed his teeth. “You might think I'm a tyrant, but it was unbearable!” she comments. Meanwhile, Ne'mat Ismail, 69, tearfully recalls divorcing her husband after she discovered that he'd got married to a girl of 20. Divorce was the only way to save face. Abdel-Rahman Hamed, 45, founder of the 'Egyptian Association for Men divorced through Khula', notes that men need protecting against the tyranny of some wives who are using khula. “The Khula Law is like a knife held to the husband's throat,” says Hamed, adding that the association wants this law to be repealed, for the sake of the husbands' rights. “Men who want to join the association don't have to be divorced the khula way, but they should be sympathetic to what we're calling for.” Samir Mahmoud, 45, a driver and member of the association, says he got married and then his wife completed her education. He helped raise the children and spent all his money on her university courses. However, as soon as she graduated, this very selfish woman divorced him the khula way, because it was below her dignity to live with a driver any longer. Chief judge of the Family Court, Ali Emara, told the Arabic language weekly Akhbar Al-Youm that khula was good for women who'de been treated badly by their husbands and cannot otherwise get a divorce. “However, khula can be very tough for the couple. The ex-wives have to repay the dowry [in most cases only PT25],” said Emara, “but the law enables them to get the furniture and even the marital home, especially if they have children,” he explained. On the other hand, the divorced husband can appeal for compensation in a khula case. Professor of Law at Al Azhar University Mansour Satour noted that the judge should assign two of relatives of the husband and wife to try and reconcile the feuding couple, before the woman resorts to khula. Professor Menoufia University Enshad Ezz Eddin says people need to be made aware that khula endangers the family's stability and future of the children.
