Hello, all. Ihave a question for anyone who can answer. In this article,
it states that it is easy for a man to get a divroce, all he has to do is
say "I divorice you" three times. I did not think that, in Islam, it was
that easy! I had thought there were guidelines to following for obtaining a
divroce, and that divorce, whether it be initiated by a man or woman, had
specific guidelines to follow.
Thanks
Ginny
----- Original Message -----
From: "Momodou Camara" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 2:23 AM
Subject: FWD:RIGHTS-EGYPT: The Right To Freedom
> 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
>
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