CAIRO: The appointment this week of Egypt s first woman able to conduct Muslim marriages has sparked controversy in the religious country, particularly from men who see their status being challenged.
Amal Soliman, 32, is the first woman in the Middle East and possibly the Muslim world to be authorized to perform wedding ceremonies and sign marriage and divorce contracts.
Straddling the worlds of bureaucracy and religion the graduate in civil and criminal law said she is more qualified than her colleagues to perform the function of ma’zoun.
Justice Minister Mamdouh Mari stressed that Soliman s nomination depended on her abilities rather than on her gender, but it has raised eyebrows and anger on the streets in the male-dominated Arab country.
I completely reject the idea, Mahmoud Ali, a bearded 40-year-old, told AFP in Cairo. There must be religious texts forbidding this … there are also obstacles on a social level, she would always take the woman s side.
This idea won t spread, it s a one-off and it won t last.
Ahmed Abdel Rehim declared simply: A woman cannot do this job. I would never have a female ma’zoun at my wedding.
But officials, eager to portray an image of equality, welcomed the decision.
I m not shocked at all, it s a purely legal job, reading Quranic verses and conducting a marriage, said Ali Saman, former head of Al-Azhar University s religious dialogue committee.
A maazun is a judicial assistant, a notary… so it s a job that women can do.
In 2005, US-based Amina Wadud sparked controversy in the Muslim world, including in Egypt, when she led prayers in New York, with some clerics saying it went against Islamic doctrine.
A female imam (who leads prayers in a mosque) is different, that s to be debated by specialists but a female ma’zoun who signs and officializes a marriage certificate there s no problem, he said.
There are no religious texts banning a Muslim woman from being a ma’zoun, said Al-Azhar s deputy director Sheikh Fawzi Zefzaf.
But when a woman is menstruating she must not enter a mosque or read Quranic verses and that will affect her job, so for this reason we say it is not advisable to have a woman ma’zoun.
Women s rights in Egypt have a long and occasionally rocky history. Egyptian women were allowed to vote and stand for office in 1956.
But they are notable in their absence from courtrooms, even those dealing with family law. A first group of 30 women judges was authorized to practice in March 2007.
Islam guarantees women s rights, whatever is said about the inferiority of women is a lie, said Zefzaf.
Why not support women? said Shawkiya Rawash, in her 50s. If she can be an example to follow, if she manages to do her job well, why not? I m in favor. -AFP
