Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Muslimah Media Watch

Home
Muslim
Religion News
Divorce, Egyptian Style: Divorcee Radio Breaks Stereotypes

Divorce, Egyptian Style: Divorcee Radio Breaks Stereotypes

Last updated on: December 16, 2009 at 12:00 am by emanhashim

Divorce, Egyptian Style: Divorcee Radio Breaks Stereotypes 2009-12-16T00:00:19-04:00 emanhashim

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“When security disappears in married life, and serenity is not accessible, then it is time to do the thing most despised by Allah.” With these words, Mahasen Saber opens her blog, I want a divorce , and then later her online radio station, Divorce Radio.

Saber was married for three years and spent a great part of them in the courts in an attempt to get her divorce. She refused the advice of some of her friends to get a Khul’ (a divorce initiated by the wife, whereby she renounces her right to her financial entitlements), because “The word khul’ provokes me because it impinges on the rights of the woman and provides her with all the damage.” In her interview with IslamOnline, she discussed the aim of her blog:

My blog mainly aims correcting the image of divorced women in society as well as the image of women seeking divorce, who are not asking for anything except their legitimate right. It also aims to display the ambition, dreams and problems of divorced women in our eastern societies, that she is not an absolute disgrace in the community. Plus I want to point out that Islam gave to the divorced women their position and were always treated with respect, but society changed both this position and the look of respect.

In her own words to Al Arabiya television, translated to English by Haaretz, Saber describes how her workplace dealt with her after being divorced: “They told me that from now on, as I was divorced, my situation was sensitive, and it would be better if I did not move around where there were men in the office.”

After the launch of her blog, she wanted to reach much a larger audience by launching an online radio station. Egyptian TV show Al Ashera Masa’an (10 o’clock) covered the topic (Arabic):

Magda Abu Fadil commented on the idea for the Huffington Post:

Egyptian divorcées are no longer alone decrying their fate in a dark corner, fearful of being stigmatized by their conservative society. Now they can commiserate, seek advice, and feel empowered, thanks to an online radio station just for them.

People reacted to her work differently. Saber told CNN that “People are shocked at first, but after they read and listen to what we write and present, they like what we talk about…they are happy because I am talking about something they are dealing with.”

This is not the first time the issue of divorce and Egyptian women asking for divorce grabs the media attention. In 1975, the Egyptian star Faten Hamama played the lead role in Uridu Halan (I Want a Solution), based on a famous novel written by Hosn Shah, an Egyptian writer, journalist, and women’s rights activist who has her own column at Alakhbar newspaper, titled “I need a solution”. The movie was about a woman who wanted a divorce, which was almost impossible back then because of how complicated it was to go through the legal steps for getting a divorce.

After the struggle of Egyptian women in the late 1970’s, reforms to the family court allow a woman can ask for a divorce now. The legal dilemma is not a piece of cake, but it’s sure better than it was before.

Currently, nearly 40 percent of marriages in Egypt now end in divorce, making it the highest rate in the Arab world. In 2008 the number of Egyptian couples who divorced increased 8.4 percent from the previous year, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egypt is also one of the few countries in the region where the topic is discussed so freely, thanks largely to the initiative of outspoken women

Someone might ask why there is all this fuss now, after all these changes occurred to the Egyptian laws. I asked Saber this exact question:

“I used to think this way too, but knowing is something and passing through the experience is another thing. Yes, there are a lot of changes that have happened to the laws as rules, but it is how they are applied that needs our attention and effort now.”

Saber gives an example:

“If a woman is demanding the expenses of her children for her husband (alimony), the law says it’s her right, but to actually get that verdict, she has to go through an enormous hassle that takes very long time, through which no law is stating who will support her children, which makes the problem stay the same.”

She gives another example:

“There’s a time frame through which judges circulate, a new judge will naturally order the case to be postponed to get some time to look into it, after which he might order another postponement, and so on.”

In this blog post, Saber states the different items in the Egyptian law that she has faced that, she believes need some improvement, and even suggests improvements.

Saber is now planning the official opening of the radio station. She is also planning to organize a peaceful silent protest for those affected by the Personal Status Law on a regular basis every month in front of the National Council for Women. And in case no one responds, she will increase protest frequency on a weekly basis until the implementation of women’s demands to amend the law takes an affect.

It is worth mentioning that Mahasen Saber is not working alone on this radio station. There is a whole team working on it, a team that includes men. This speaks to the fact that, even though things are tough when it comes to dealing with divorced women, even though some families consider divorce an undebatable topic, and even though it is not so easy to go through the legal journey to get a divorce, a group of Egyptian men and women now are working on changing this in the hopes that the next generation will have a less difficult time than these pioneering women did.

For more information on Divorcee Radio, check out these articles (both in English) from Menassat and CNN.

Previous Post

December 15, 2009

Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression

Next Post

December 17, 2009 The Science of Beating a Dead Horse: The Christian Science Monitor's Hijab Series

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How long was Israel in Egyptian bondage?

Select your answer to see how you score.

400 years 500 years 300 years 200 years