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Fresh Controversy Over Egyptian Women's Rights
by Mohamed Abdelaouf
CAIRO
(IslamOnline) - The issue of women’s rights in Islam is again making headlines
in Egypt's press after a ruling, welcomed by feminists and moderate Islamic
scholars as “historic”, by the Egyptian Higher Constitutional Court
allowing women to obtain passports and travel abroad without written approval
from their husbands.
The Court, the highest in the country of 65 million, said recently that the
Interior Ministry no longer had the right to prevent women from traveling abroad
simply because their husbands disapproved.
Men, in the mostly Sunni Muslim country, have in the past, been able to
blacklist their wives at the Ministry, thereby barring them from all foreign travel.
The court stated that Egyptian women could travel freely unless a new law
restricting their movements was enacted. It also said that the introduction of
any new legislation would be up to the Egyptian Parliament when it reconvenes
later this year.
The ruling re-ignited a controversy that swept the nation earlier this year when
MPs strongly opposed the item in new marital status law amendments presented by
the government to the parliament in January. Facing stormy opposition, the
government reintroduced the marital status laws in a draft amendment without the
controversial item.
Unconstitutional practice
The Court said that the constitution grants equal rights to all citizens, men
and women alike, including the right to travel abroad, arguing that only courts
should have the right to bar anyone from travel.
When
a husband wants to prevent his wife from traveling abroad, he has to file
a lawsuit with the Temporary Affairs Judge, who then rules on the request after
hearing from both parties.
"The legislature did not leave the door wide open for wives to travel
whenever they want. The whole issue was placed under judiciary supervision so
that to defend the interest of the whole family," said Abdel Moniem Issac
Mohammed, vice-president of the State Lawsuits Authority.
After the marital status law amendments in January, this ruling is seen as the
second victory for women’s rights activists this year.
"The
constitution regards women as citizens who enjoy full and equal rights. The old
law contravened the constitution because it restricted the basic freedom of
movement and travel," said Mona Zul Fakkar, a lawyer and a women’s rights
advocate.
She played down fears that women may misuse the right to travel in a way that
may undermine the unity of families. "It is very difficult for a woman to
quit her home commitments and responsibilities and children and travel. Similar
fears surfaced when the law amendments were enacted earlier this year but
they proved to be exaggeration," she said.
Aisha Rateb, a former minister, said the Constitutional Court ruling was “not
a surprise”.
"The
ruling is based on respect of the items of the Egyptian constitution, which gave
the freedom of travel to all citizens and which stated that men and women are
equal," she said.
Commenting
on the ruling," Rateb told the al-Mussawar weekly magazine,
"The ruling gave women back their rights granted to them by all religions and
legislation.
Top Muslims scholars also welcomed the ruling, stressing that it did not contradict
Islamic law, or Sharia’, which granted women rights more than 1400 years
ago.
"In the Islamic sharia’, both husband and wife should come to an
understanding over the traveling issue," said Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the
Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s most prominent seat of learning.
"The Constitutional Court ruling is in line with what I said in the
People's Assembly [earlier this year]. The wife can travel without her
husband permission as long as the husband stubbornly prevents her without
logical reasons," he said in statements to the official Middle East News
Agency.
He added that although Sharia’ requires the woman to get her husband's
approval before traveling, "the courts can interfere to save wives from abusive
and stubborn husbands and give women the right to travel."
Abdel Moeti Bayyoumi, a prominent scholar at al-Azhar, said that although the
ruling was in line with Islamic laws, courts should not be allowed to interfere
in family affairs. “The government should not step in to control the
husband-wife relationship. This relationship should be built on understanding,
love, mercy; all of which cannot be imposed by a court,” he argued.
Souad Saleh, a female religious scholar, said that in Islam women could act to
prevent their husbands from traveling abroad if they feel that the husband’s
absence would jeopardize family stability.
"I know many cases in which the husbands travel, leaving their wives and
children without a source of income. This practice has nothing to do with
Islam," she said.
The contested marital status law amendments made divorce easier for millions of
Egyptian women by allowing family courts the power to grant women a divorce
within months if they waive alimony rights and return their bridal dowry under
an Islamic precept called 'khula'.
Drawing the ire of Egypt's male-dominated parliament and press, the amended law
also recognized the right to divorce in the rising practice of unofficial, or 'urfi',
weddings among young people.
The amendments also angered conservatives and Islamist writers who say it grants
individual freedoms at the risk of disintegrating the family.
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