Reuters
CAIRO: A woman who rocked Egyptian society by taking a famous actor to court to prove he was the father of her child is urging thousands of other women in a similar position to speak out and get help. Hind El-Hinnawy, 28, told Reuters on Wednesday that the relative speed with which she won her high-profile case last week could help hasten resolution of the estimated 14,000 paternity cases stuck in Egypt s glacial legal system. The judge on television said after the verdict that he wishes that other judges would take this ruling and work on it, Hinnawy said, adding that many cases last as long as five years. He said he wished that these paternity cases would take less time, and I guess the number of paternity cases will increase and will take a shorter time, she added. Hinnawy set Egypt s media ablaze two years ago when she dared to take to court actor Ahmed El-Fishawy, well known for fronting a television program promoting religious morality, to establish their daughter Leena s right to use his name. The pair conceived Leena outside of traditional marriage. Hinnawy said they had agreed a common-law or urfi marriage, which would oblige El-Fishawy to give his name to his daughter. El-Fishawy denied any such marriage took place but the court ruled that he is the child s father. He was not immediately available for comment. Middle Eastern women who conceive without an acknowledged partner sometimes face ridicule, ostracism and even death by the hand of a male relative in so-called “honor killings. Rights groups say their children are forever known as illegitimate and are discriminated against because they do not carry their father s name. Most will have difficulty marrying, and many cannot access state services for lack of a valid birth certificate. They are ostracized, nobody will not want to marry them, they will be seen as bastards … [Hinnawy s] bravery is beyond comprehension. Usually her family would have killed her or disowned her, said women s rights activist Iman Bibars. Hinnawy said she was now volunteering with non-government organizations (NGOs) to encourage other women who have filed paternity cases to speak out and get help. Some women do not have sufficient witnesses to call upon because shame makes them reluctant to bring others into the case. Others do not have adequate legal representation. What we do is go to court and try to talk to people who are waiting for their court cases. If they talk we ve got the case … NGOs will help them and get lawyers for them, because some of them do not have lawyers, Hinnawy said. The judge in her paternity case decided El-Fishawy was the father by establishing that the pair had had a relationship akin to marriage, Hinnawy said, adding that El-Fishawy had admitted to having sexual relations with her. Critics of the judge s ruling say that without the stigma of illegitimate children, more women would have pre-marital sex. But those who support the ruling say it will make men think twice about casual sex. Under Egyptian law a child has the right to inherit from her father if she takes his name, and the child s mother has the right to demand maintenance money. He should be responsible for what he did. I wanted his name. I did not want him to be a daddy if he does not want to be a daddy … I can be a mum and dad, Hinnawy said. I was so scared if she grew up and kids made fun of her. People like to gossip. Parents gossip in front of the kids. They would say You don t have a name? Why don t you have a name like us? she added, referring to her daughter, Leena El-Fishawy.
