CAIRO -

A heated debate over renewed demands for amendments to the Personal Status Law in Egypt in conjunction with the launch of the series "Faten Amal Harbi" on the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan, which in turn ignited a debate between men and women about the consequences of divorce, including child custody, alimony and marital home, especially in light of Waiting for the draft laws to amend the current law to come to light.

Specialists who spoke to Al Jazeera Net call for listening to the affected, Al-Azhar scholars, judges, lawyers and workers in the field of family awareness, before launching any amendments to the Egyptian Personal Status Law so that it is issued in a fair and realistic manner without prior biases.

Controls and warning

And the family and social advisor, Dr. Manal Khader, believes - in statements to Al Jazeera Net - that the problems of Egyptian families after the separation have become a great pain, given the distance of many separated from the great religious teachings that do justice to the husband and wife and protect the children.

Khader points out that "the reality that is far from values ​​is what has humiliated women in the courts amid unfair conditions at the hands of half men, while it is religion that grants women their rights immediately upon divorce and without the need for courts," stressing that "the absence of good morals and an atmosphere of harmony created as well. Huge crises at home or when separated.

It clarifies that "alimony, custody, marital home, vision and other issues that Islam has resolved clearly and mercifully, which is what must be given space for Al-Azhar and its scholars to inform people of their family rights and duties from a religious point of view and not to non-specialists."

Manal Khader warns against the attempts of some to price war of words over the proposed amendments without regard to religion and its controls or consideration of the future of children or the family system as a whole, stressing that any amendment to the law must stem from understanding and monitoring the real problems of families, after hearing all parties, especially those affected and workers. In the field of family awareness, judges and legal experts.

mother's right

According to official statements by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, custody is the right of the mother, and she is the decision-maker in his fate.

The Grand Imam said in his statements - which were republished by the official Sawt al-Azhar newspaper account on Facebook these days - that "nursery is a right of the mother, because it is known that the mother has a measure of tenderness and mercy towards her son or daughter that makes her patient in education and enjoy patience."

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar confirms that there is no explicit text in the Qur’an or the Sunnah that custody is transferred from the mother to the father at the age of 7 years for a boy or 9 years for a girl. Rather, there are old sayings that see that custody of a girl ends with marriage and the boy reaches puberty.

The Grand Imam explains that the issue of removing a child from his divorced mother when she remarries, based on the saying of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, “You have more right to him as long as you do not marry.” There is a saying by the Hanafis who said that even if she gets married and it turns out that the child’s interest with her remains custody of her, criticizing the anger of some Men without regard to the psyche of the little.

Regarding the right of vision, the Grand Imam indicates that vision is a legitimate and legal right of the father, and he may not be prevented from it, stressing that the custody law needs to consider ways to implement it.

heated debate

Controversy rages on social networking sites in Egypt after the series about the Personal Status Law, its expected amendments, and the clashes of those involved around it, according to what was monitored.

The National Council for Women (a government agency) entered the controversy with a statement on its official Facebook page with the start of the series, stressing its support for it and the importance of raising awareness of the support of divorced women, especially with regard to the marital home, which sparked controversy.

In its statement, the council considers that "the series raised an important issue facing many married women or in the case of separation and divorce with custody, which is the issue of the marital home, although housing is a duty of the husband to his wife, and the father to his children."

The battle sparked questions about the script of the writer Ibrahim Issa - according to what was monitored - that came from the heroine of the series, actress Nelly Karim, about dropping child custody and guardianship over them in the event of a divorced woman's marriage and the extent to which this corresponds to the words of God Almighty.

The former deputy of Al-Azhar and the head of the main Fatwa Committee at Al-Azhar Mosque, Dr. Abbas Shoman, launched an attack in a series of posts on his official Facebook page against some of the contents and claims of the series.

Shoman considered that what was mentioned in the dialogue inferring the loss of custody from a divorced woman upon her marriage is a full-fledged crime, and a malicious thought that must be confronted, explaining that “legislation is not limited to the Book of God, but with it is the Sunnah, consensus, analogy, and other sources that scholars know, not ignorant people.” As he put it.

The former spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments, Khatib Abdullah Rushdi, accused - in a post on his official Facebook account - the series makers of transgressing the right of Sharia and cultivating secular ideas in drama, according to his opinion, stressing that Sharia preserved women and the family.

A spokesman for the Association of Parents Affected by the Personal Status Law, Ahmed Ezz, criticized the series, stressing that it is behind the increase in views, regardless of the corruption that this work leaves in society, as he put it.

The association adopts - according to his statements - allowing the father to host the children, amending the position of the father, who comes in the fourth place in the nursery, and involving it in any amendment to the Personal Status Law.

In the same context, the campaign "Rebellion Against Family Law" accused the series of being "full of inaccuracies".

And she said in a post on her official Facebook page that "fraud continues under the auspices of the series Faten Amal Harbi," adding that the fraud did not affect Sharia only, but even the law was filled with many legal inaccuracies, according to a video broadcast.

The campaign accused the series of seeking to attribute the son to his mother instead of the father, deciding the guardianship of the children in education, inheritance, and marriage without the father having any role in the lives of his children except from the obligatory alimony only, according to what was stated in the publication.

jurisprudence

Lawyer and jurist Muhammad Abu Al-Azm believes - in statements to Al-Jazeera Net - that the Egyptian legislator organized a mechanism for laws and legislation and reinforced it with the importance of conducting a real societal dialogue to discuss those legislative visions that come in response to the needs of society and its development.

Abul-Azm adds that in order for the amendment to reflect the aspirations of society, the societal dialogue must expand to include all those concerned in this regard, as the purpose of the societal dialogue is for the legislative text to reinforce the rule of law and the philosophy of legislation.

Lawyer and jurist Abu Al-Azm asserts that the current projects raise many fears among observers and Egyptian families that the upcoming law will bring new provisions that do not comply with the aspirations of society, or do not address its problems in a radical and effective manner, which requires legislators to conduct more community consultations before issuing the law with Upholding the Egyptian family's values ​​and constitutional principles and avoiding the gaps in the current law.

For her part, lawyer and feminist human rights lawyer, Nihad Abu al-Qumsan, presented a number of proposals to ensure the existence of what she described as a "fair personal status law", especially since she was the one who conducted the legal review of the series.

And she called - in a statement on her official Facebook page - to "link children's vision to the father's concern for it under the auspices of a specialized child protection department that evaluates the behavior of parents, activating the role of the prosecution in cases of empowerment from the marital home with a legal amendment linking alimony to the minimum wage, and activating the mandate education for the mother.