Egyptian Women

Women in Egypt. From the earliest preserved archaeological records, women in egypt have been thought to be considered nearly equal to men in Egyptian society, regardless of marital status.Despite this equality, women were expected to avoid contact with men who were not kin and to veil themselves in public. As children, females were raised to be solely dependent upon their fathers and older brothers. An early married life for women meant a time of extreme subordination and insecurity. When women married, they depended on their husbands to make all decisions, while the women themselves were depended upon to carry out household chores. Married Egyptian women were expected by their husband’s families to bear children, but particularly males. It was common for married couples to continue to reproduce until bearing at least two sons. Barrenness was considered a severe misfortune for Egyptian women, as well as the inability to produce male offspring. Women who had only bore females were given derogatory names, such as “mothers of brides.” A family with well-grown sons were considered to have decent security. An Egyptian woman was thought to be at the peak of power when her sons had married because she automatically acquired the control over the newly growing families of her sons.

Egypt's laws pertaining to marriage and divorce have changed over the years, however they have generally favored the social position of men, although reform continues. Egypt retained the inclusion of Islamic law in dealings of family law, following on from its judicial and administrative independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1874.^[8] Muslim husbands were traditionally allowed to have up to four wives at a time in accordance with Islamic religious custom, but a woman could have only one husband at a time. Quranic texts suggest that this practice was a concession to social conditions, stating that doing so might be 'best for the orphans'.^[9] A Muslim man could divorce his wife with ease by saying "I divorce thee" on three separate occasions in the presence of witnesses. However, for example in the more strict Hanafi school of family law, a woman could only divorce from her husband in the case of his impotence or by choosing the 'option of puberty'. The first reforms that changed this state of affairs came in the 1920s with Law No.25 of 1920 and 1929. These reforms included the following specifics regarding legitimate grounds for a woman requesting a divorce:

1. If her husband failed to provide maintenance. (nafaqah)
2. If her husband was found to have a dangerous or contagious disease.
3. If she was deserted by her husband.
4. If she was maltreated by her husband.^[10]

These reforms were possible through the Maliki school of thought, which was more liberal. As suggested by Rifa'a el-Tahtawi, a more progressive attitude towards the rights of women could be achieved whilst remaining within an Islamic framework, by looking to another of the Sunni schools. In 1971 further reforms were made and these even began to include debates about whether or not Shariah law should be included in the new constitution. Dr. Aisha Ratib became Minister of Social Affairs and in November the following revisions were suggested:

1. That the age for legal marriage should be raised to 18 for women and 21 for men.
2. That the permission of a judge was required for polygamy.
3. That divorces could not take place without a judge being present
4. That the mother should be allowed a greater period of guardianship, but alo that guardianship in the case of divorce should go to the parent deemed most suitable to provide it.
5. That judges should have more involvement in family law cases, and that female judges should be considered to deal with family law cases