CAIRO: Since Egypt broadened its divorce laws in 2000, women have had the legal right to divorce their husbands through khoul’. This, however, doesn’t necessarily eliminate all of the difficulties that may come after the divorce has been obtained.
With one third of marriages end within the first year, the number of divorced women has increased, totaling 65,461 in 2006, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). According to a recent survey by worldpublicopinion.org, the majority of Egyptians believe that these divorced women are treated poorly compared to other women.
The survey polled 600 Egyptians from the urban areas of Cairo, Alexandria and Giza and asked them the extent to which divorced women are ill-treated in comparison to other women. Of the 600 surveyed, 38 percent said that they felt divorced women were mistreated ‘a great deal,’ while 42 percent replied ‘some.’ Fourteen percent said they believed they were treated ‘a little’ worse than other women, while only six percent said that divorced women did not fair any worse than their single or married counterparts.
Dr. Madiha El-Safty, professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo, contested these opinions. “No, I don’t agree. It used to be like that, women were mistreated and discriminated against. There used to be a very obvious stigma, but not anymore, she explained.
“The image of the divorced woman has changed simply because more women are getting divorced, so there is more acceptance of it than before.
While the social stigma attached with divorce may be decreasing as divorce becomes more commonplace, there are other challenges divorced women face according to Nehad Aboul-Qomsan, Director of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights.
“We work with a lot of women and most of them are divorced. They suffer from many things. There is some insensitivity from other women, but that is not the main thing they [divorced women] suffer from, Aboul-Qomsan said. She described the difficulties women face both during and after the divorce.
Women may obtain a divorce from her husband either through a regular divorce procedure in which the woman must demonstrate sufficient cause for the divorce in order to obtain financial rights, or through khoul’, in which the woman may ask for a divorce unilaterally.
“Khoul e is much easier, but she has to forfeit all her financial rights. The process is shorter, and there is no right to appeal [by the other party]. The judge could say yes or no, but the high percentage is yes, she has divorce, Aboul-Qomsan said.
After the divorce, a woman with children may stay in the ‘marriage home’ until her children reach the age of 15, and the former husband is required to pay alimony. However, Aboul-Qomsan explained, it is difficult to legally ensure that he will pay the alimony, or that the initial amount of alimony set will be sufficient to provide for the children. “Most of it [the alimony] doesn’t cover basic needs for the kids, Aboul-Qomsan said.
Depending on her skill level or educational background, the divorcee may obtain a job, despite the scarcity of job opportunities. Women with limited educational backgrounds and skill sets often end up working as housekeepers or in similar occupations, and some struggle financially.
Aboul-Qomsan said that while divorced women may not be mistreated socially as divorce becomes more widely accepted, the many problems women face during and after a divorce may deter women from seeking one.
“Divorce is not an easy issue and women think 100 times before divorce. It may end one problem but open several more, she added.
And once divorced, these women often choose not to remarry. “They suffered enough, Aboul-Qomsan said. “They do not want to repeat that.
