In its first-ever report on personal status laws, Human Rights Watch (HRW) paints a bleak picture of women suffering under Egypt's divorce system. Gihan Shahine (Al Ahram Weekly) reviews the report and asks its author, Farida Deif, some tough questions.
At least 200 Muslim women from Debang VDC in Parsa district who were divorced without their consent recently urged the Prime Ministers Office and Cabinet and other ministries to probe the issue and bring the guilty to book.
On October 2, 2004, the new Family Courts Law, passed in March 2004, has come into effect and 224 Family Courts have opened their doors for the first time.
