Copyright 2000 InterPress Service, all rights reserved. Worldwide distribution via the APC networks. *** 28-Mar-0* *** Title: RIGHTS-EGYPT: The Right To Freedom By Hossam Hassan CAIRO 28 Mar (IPS) - A new law, the Personal Status Law, which allows women easier access to divorce and the right to apply to the courts for permission to travel alone, has been applauded by women and human rights activists. However there has been condemnation from some laywers, the media and the male dominated society. One newspaper even described it as 'the beginning of the breakdown of the family'. According to Egyptian law, which is a blend of Islamic and French laws, a married woman could not travel abroad alone if her husband did not approve and divorces can take up to 10 years to obtain. Nagad Al-Bora'i, head of the Organisation of Democratic Development, a prominent human rights organisation, has praised the law. He says giving women more rights to decide their personal life, was definitely a step forward. The new law, intended to facilitate personal status litigation, took effect from March 1. There are over 1.5 million divorce cases filed in the Egyptian Courts, and legal sources say that due to routine and slow procedures, most cases can take up to a decade to be heard. According to the new law a woman can apply for khul', which is the right to obtain a divorce without her husband's consent, by foregoing her financial rights. However, womens groups are not happy with the fact that in order to attain freedom women have to give up financial rights. "When it comes to her own freedom, a woman can forego her financial rights in exchange of getting a divorce. Although it is a major sacrifice, many wives feel they have no other choice to regain their freedom and get rid of a mean, violent or maybe even impotent husband," says activist Nawal Al-Saadawy. Hanaa Eid, a woman in her early 30's with two children aged five and seven, has applied for khul' without the assistance of a lawyer. After eight years of marriage, Hanaa says she had 'had enough'. "I felt like I had gone through every possible pain and degradation and enough was enough," she says. The fact that she has to give up her financial rights, despite her modest resources, has not deterred Hanaa. "He does not contribute a single piastre (the smallest Egyptian currency) to the household. I pay for everything and we have no home but my father's. So what is the difference?" she sighed. Hanaa is desperate to 'get it over and done with' so that she can apply for welfare benefits as a female heading a household with no regular source of income. She says she has been a regular at the courts for the past four years trying to get a divorce under the old system but to no avail. "My husband would not turn up for hearings and the case would be postponed. I don't even know where he is anymore," she said. The first week of the month saw a steady flow of applications for khul' across the nation. By mid March Cairo's Zananeiri Personal Status Court alone had received over 3.000 applications. The law has, however, triggered a controversy among the religious conservatives and the male sector of the community. "Conservative forces are backed by the power of religion and the Constitution, which stipulates that Islam is the state religion and that the Shari'a (Islamic Laws) its primary source of legislation," says activist Farida Al Naqqash. She says specialists in Islamic jurisprudence have agreed 'virtually unanimously' that the law conforms with the principles of Shari'a. "The debates show that the Shari'a has never been the issue. The issue is the patriarchal or class desire for control exhibited by most men. "Even university professors and lawyers were enraged by the possibility that women could share men's right to divorce. The discourse of ownership overrode considerations of justice and equality that make up the ethical framework of the Qur'an (the Muslim Holy Book)," said Al-Naqqash. Several lawyers have come out against giving women the power to get a divorce so easily. They have expressed hope that the executive statutes, which have not yet been released and which provide guidelines on the usage of the law, will introduce some restrictions. They say the fact that the men cannot appeal against khul' is unconstitutional because it means giving women the exclusive right while ignoring the defence and point of view of the husband. According to Islam a man is allowed to marry as many as four wives at a time and he can easily get a divorce by uttering the phrase "I divorce you" three times. Custody of the children is usually granted to the woman unless she re-marries or is proved by her ex-husband, in a lawsuit, of being promiscuous. Scoffed one lawyer: "I donot understand why all these women keep asking us to seek khul' for them. What kind of a man would agree to marry a woman who got divorced by means of khul'?" Hassan El-Meleighi, a lawyer, says the problem with khul' is that "any woman can ask for a divorce with or without justification". He said women involved in relationships with other men, or who no longer want their husbands "because they don't love them" can just go and apply for divorce, he says. Sayed Tantawi, Egypt's Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, the highest Sunni Muslim authority, confirmed that the new law agrees with Islamic laws. "Khul' was known and approved by our Prophet Mohammed when a woman wants to get her freedom because she cannot keep her marriage to a husband she hates," he said. Mahmoud El-Baroudi, deputy secretary general of the Zananeiri Court says the fact that the executive statutes have not yet been issued has not affected the number of applications from pouring in. He said the statutes would be issued by April 1. "Lawyers keep on citing reasons for khul' such as harm inflicted by the husband or the non provision of essentials. These are not necessary. All that is required is for the lawyer to argue that the woman does not want to be married to her husband anymore - that is enough for her to get her freedom," he said. (END/IPS/hh/sm/00) Origin: Harare/RIGHTS-EGYPT/ ---- [c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS) All rights reserved ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------