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Evaluation of women rights in the

framework of Islamic legal systems
Country case: Saudi Arabia and Egypt
Rashad Alakbarov

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thepoliticon.net

Evaluation of women rights in the framework of Islamic legal systems

Country case: Saudi Arabia and Egypt

Rashad Alakbarov, Ilaha Zeynalli

November 2017

Introduction
The role of women in socio-political life in the Middle East and North Africa has been limited by
law over the long years. However, when the popular uprisings began in MENA region, the role of
women in non-traditional ways of political participation such as revolts, uprisings raised questions
regarding women rights and gender equality, as well as women’s role in socio-political life of
MENA countries. Since then several important changes have been implemented concerning
women rights especially in the context of family law, women’s right to education, as well as
participation in public sphere.
The current paper provides an overview of situation regarding women rights in Muslim countries,
focusing on mainly Saudi Arabia and Egypt, starting with comparison of legal systems of these
Muslim countries, evaluating the role of political regimes in women rights protection, emphasizing
essential obstacles that females face in social, as well as political sphere. The study mainly focuses
on personal status law and inheritance law of abovementioned countries where equality between
men and women is violated the most. It refers to various rights of women including entering
marriage, right to divorce, right to travel and education, and political participation. Although the
study does not draw complete picture of the situation in all Muslim countries regarding women
rights, it sheds light on some factors creating obstacles for the development of females in that
societies. The aim of this study is to examine the status of women in Saudi Arabia and Egypt and
evaluate how recent political events in MENA region have affected development of women rights
in these two regional states.
Legal framework regarding women rights in Egypt
When it comes to the personal status law, discrimination against women is much clearer in most
Muslim countries where the source of law is Shari’a (due to the different interpretations). However,
the discrimination is in different levels depending on the cases. The poll results conducted among
The Politicon November, 2017
330 gender experts in 22 Arab countries revealed that Egypt is worst for women rights among other
Arabic states.1
Personal status law is based on Hanafi school jurisprudence in Egypt and applies for all people
regardless of their religion whereas Christians and Jews may apply their own laws for marriage
and divorce.2 All marriages should be registered in order to be considered legally valid. Although
unregistered marriages are socially valid, they are not recognized by the courts and therefore,
especially women face difficulties while appealing the court for implementation of their marital
rights such as divorce or maintenance of marriage. In Islamic marriage groom has to pay a sum of
money to bride which is called dower (mahr or sadaq). One part of this amount is paid right after
the marriage and remaining part should be paid in case of divorce or decease of husband.
Inequality between men and women rights can be observed in right to divorce, as well. According
to Islamic law males can end the marriage unilaterally without showing any reason for that. This
is called repudiation (talaq) and husband should register divorce within thirty days of
announcement of talaq, otherwise he can be imprisoned up to six month and/or pay two hundred
Egyptian pounds as penalty.3 However, the law does not guarantee the same rights to women in
case if she wants to divorce. In Egypt, Muslim women can initiate divorce in the following cases:
one year absence or three-years imprisonment of husband; a severe illness of husband including
mental, venereal and impotence that the wife was not informed before their marriage; failure of
husband to provide financial support or maintain the family; injury or a damage, as well as mental
harm caused to the wife.4 All of these cases are included to the fault-based divorce. Second type of
divorce is called non-fault based divorce (khul). In this type, wife does not need to provide evidence
to the court for divorce, but she refuses her right to get alimony and even gives back the advanced
dowry to her husband.5
Although the marriage contracts did exist in pre-Islamic period in Egypt, the latest version of such
contract gives some privileges to the wives to enjoy during their marriage. Since 2000, women may
have included several conditions to their marriage contract such as she can guarantee that her
husband will not marry for the second time, or she will work or study outside of home etc. 6 If
husband does not obey this contract, wife can end the marriage easily. However, in modern Egypt
girls are married without their consent and even before the legal age for marriage. Moreover, they
are not informed about marriage contract before their marriage. Although legal age for marriage
had been increased to 18 in 2008, the study of The American University of Cairo revealed that
early marriages are common among low income level families in which 18% of girls are forced to

1
BBC News (2013) Egypt 'worst for women' out of 22 countries in Arab world. Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24908109
2
Berger, M. & Sonneveld, N. (2010) Shari a and national law in Egypt Leiden University Press. Pg. 74.
3
Ibid. Pg. 75.
4
Human Rights Watch interview with Hassan `Osman, public prosecutor of the district of Cairo, Cairo, July 7, 2004.
5
Human Rights Watch interview with Marwa Majid, Cairo, June 13, 2004. Retrieved from
https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/egypt1204/egypt1204.pdf
6
Berger, M. & Sonneveld, N. (2010) Shari a and national law in Egypt Leiden University Press. Pg. 75.
The Politicon November, 2017
marry before the age of 18.7 Another study conducted by the International Population Council, the
National Council for Population and Development and Assiut University showed that early
marriages accounts more in rural regions with 33.3 percentage of married women, in comparison
with the urban areas where the percentage of early married women is 25%.8
Women rights are not only undermined by forcing them to marry at an early age, but also their
right to education and work are violated. Moreover, early marriages are caused health damage, as
well as increases domestic violence. Despite the lack of official statistics, research suggest that
high number of Egyptian girls and women face domestic violence, sexual harassment, are being
raped and offended. UNICEF study in 2001 revealed that 29% of married females have been faced
with domestic violence by their husbands or other relatives, of whom 41% were beaten during the
pregnancy.9
According to the survey conducted by Pew Research Center, views regarding women’s right to end
marriage in diverse Muslim populated countries are different. Study shows that only 22% of
Muslims in Egypt agree that the women should have right to divorce her husband (Chart 1.).

Chart 1.

7
Daily News Egypt (2014) Child marriage remains common, despite legal ban. Retrieved from:
https://dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/22/child-marriage-remains-common-despite-legal-ban/
8
Egyptian Streets (2017) 600 000 Egyptian women get married before age of consent: Study. Retrieved from:
https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/05/18/600000-egyptian-women-married-before-age-of-consent-study/
9
UNICEF Press release (2001) UNICEF: Child marriages must stop. Retrieved from:
https://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr21.htm
The Politicon November, 2017
Discrimination against women exists not only in personal status law, but also in inheritance law.
According to intestate inheritance law woman can get only half amount of the man allowed to if
both of them have the same testamentary inheritance positions.10 Interestingly, the study conducted
by Pew Research Center revealed that women in Egypt are less likely to support the right to equal
inheritance for sons and daughters (Chart 2.).

Chart 2.
Adding to that, women’s political participation and representation in legal system were forbidden
by law. Up until 2007 women were not permitted to become judges. However, females gained
important achievements during the last decade and finally are allowed to become judges in family
courts, whereas State Council and penal courts are still male dominated.11
After the 2011 uprisings the situation concerning women’s rights has changed, since when the
feminist and women right groups have become more active on media, public spaces to demand
more democratic rights to women. Among the main demands of women right groups were political
representation and participation in decision-making for women. The consequence of struggle to
reform the Egyptian constitution could be considered successful. Even though the first drafting
committee did not include fair rights to women, the second committee which included five women

10
Berger, M. & Sonneveld, N. (2010) Shari a and national law in Egypt Leiden University Press. Pg. 78.
11
UNICEF (2011) Egypt: MENA gender equality profile. Pg. 3.
The Politicon November, 2017
established some rights supporting fair participation of women in decision-making, criminalizing
violence against women, as well as the rights providing equality between men and women.12
In the aftermath of Egypt’s revolution the reforms also shaped personal status law. As mentioned
before, if under the previous law women had to provide proof for maltreatment by husband in order
to initiate divorce, according to new guidelines women can initiate divorce without any evidence
for damage. Moreover, women can take care of their children until the age of 15 after divorce,
whereas the previous law gave mothers custody of their son until the age of 10 and daughters until
12.13 Despite these positive changes during the last decade, women’s sexual and reproductive
health rights have still not been improved including abortion, access to healthcare, protection from
HIV/AIDS etc.

Situation regarding women rights in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is known as the most conservative Muslim country, especially in regard to the women
rights. Women rights are restricted by the system of legal guardianship and applied for all women
regardless of their religion.14 Under this system woman should get permission by her male guardian
(family member) to marry, get passport and travel abroad. However, some Saudi officials describe
this system not as a religious rule, but as cultural in nature.15
Unlike Egypt, the personal status law is based on Hanbali school of jurisprudence in Saudi Arabia
which is considered the most conservative school of Islamic law. However, in Saudi Arabia the
law grants rights to husband and wife to add stipulations to the marriage contract in order to modify
normal marital rights and duties between them.16 Disobedience to this contract may end up
dissolution of the marriage. As it was the case in Egypt, the contract can give the woman right to
initiate divorce, if her husband marries a second woman. However, if such stipulations are not
included to the marriage contract, possibilities to end the marriage is limited. Couples can divorce
with mutual consent, if woman asks her husband to divorce. In this case, she repays dower and
refuses remaining part of financial rights.17 Although according to law, woman has the right to
divorce if she faces any physical or mental harm, as well as in case of absence of husband or non-
provision of financial obligations to wife, realization of divorce is very difficult for woman in
conservative Saudi Arabia. Moreover, woman’s right to care her children also changes after the
divorce and she loses right to care her son after the age of seven and daughter after the age of nine.18

12
Hassa M. Wo e ’s rights i the After ath of Egypt’s revolutio . Euspri g, Worki g paper No . Pg. -5.
Retrieved from: http://aei.pitt.edu/67178/1/euspring_paper_5_womans_rights_in_egypt.pdf
13
Ibid.
14
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Annual Report 2017. Pg. 6. Retrieved from:
http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/SaudiArabia.2017.pdf
15
Ibid.
16
Eijk E. (2010) Sharia and national law in Saudi Arabia. Pg. 163.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid. Pg. 163-164.
The Politicon November, 2017
Similar to Egyptian law men are more privileged by law, since they can end the marriage
unilaterally without providing any justifiable reason in Saudi Arabia, as well.
Although there is no available national statistics regarding the gender based violence in Saudi
Arabia, domestic violence against women is common especially in Makkah, Riyadh, Jazan,
Madinah, Qassim, Asir regions.19 According to Saleh Al-Sarhan, director of the Makkah chapter
of National Society for Human Rights, the main reason of increase of domestic violence against
women is the failure to implement the law that grants family members to protect themselves from
violence, sexual abuse or maltreatment. Moreover, the government agencies responsible for the
combat against violence do not organize awareness programs to protect human rights at schools or
universities.
As for the right to education, the first public schools for girls were opened in the 1960s, however
the goal of education was to teach the Quran, Hadith and Sunna to boys and girls and mainly based
on memorization rather than reading.20 Therefore, most of the illiterate males and females are able
to read the Quran. In the end of the 1970s, women were not only attending at school, but also
started to be admitted to the universities which was not accepted by the most conservative religious
groups and perceived as the influence of Western values.21 The main focus of extremist protests
was against women’s freedom and their participation in the development of nation. Until recently
women were not allowed to run their own business without a male representative.22 The role of
King Faisal is undeniable regarding the struggle to educate girls; it was him who made girl’s
education mandatory and obligatory. Moreover, women and men educated in the West returned
with different vision including support equality between men and women, as well as women’s
political participation.
Fighting for women’s right to drive is one of the most discussed topics among the feminists around
the world and even by Saudi women. Many years women struggled for getting right to drive car,
however driving is still forbidden for women in Saudi Arabia. Although many women and even a
number of men are supporting women’s right to drive, this right is not accepted as important as
right to education or participation in public life. The study conducted by International Republican
Institute revealed that more than half (52%) of women agree that lifting ban on driving a car would
have a little or no influence over the women’s participation in public life, however, both males
(82%) and females (84%) believe that advancing education opportunities would considerably affect
women’s involvement in public life.23 Interestingly, according to this study less than 40% of males
(35%) and females (31%) believe that gender equality was not a vital issue in comparison with

19
Al Arabia (2016) Domestic violence cases on the rise in Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2016/03/02/Domestic-violence-cases-on-the-rise-in-Saudi-Arabia.html
20
Hamdan A. (2005) Women and education in Saudi Arabia: challenges and achievements. International education
journal. Pg. 47.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
International Republican Institute (2015) IRI Poll Finds Saudis Hopeful about Progress of Gender Equality in Saudi
Arabia. Retrieved from: http://www.iri.org/resource/iri-poll-finds-saudis-hopeful-about-progress-gender-equality-
saudi-arabia
The Politicon November, 2017
administrative corruption, domestic violence, environmental issues and struggle with poverty. 24
Despite some unique changes in the status of women in Saudi Arabia over the last decades,
situation regarding women rights remain fragile in the country. The following section identifies
international tools to combat against violence against women rights in both Saudi Arabia and
Egypt.

International measures to respond to the gender based violence in Saudi Arabia and Egypt
Legal response to the violence against women by the international community starts with the
international conventions and law. Government’s commitment to the already ratified international
treaties or declarations on human rights which are providing equal rights for both men and women
plays an important role in the development of situation concerning women rights. Currently Egypt
and Saudi Arabia are parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) since 1981 and 2004 respectively. Both parties agreed to conform the
content of the Convention, unless such compliance does not contradict to the Islamic Sharia. The
United Nations also intensifies its role concerning combat against violence against women. In this
regard UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of
Women supports the development of women in rural and urban areas by taking practical measures
to provide safety for women with cooperation local and regional institutions, as well as civil society
organizations. As part of UN Women’s Safe Cities Global Initiative, the Cairo Safe City Program
(2011-2018) aims to prevent gender based violence against women in public spaces in three parts
of the Cairo: Ezbet Al-Haggannah, Mansheyat Nasser and Imbaba.25 The Program is supported by
the USAID, the EU and the Spanish Cooperation and launched with the strong partnership of the
Egypt government as well as other local NGOs and international organizations.
Another EU-UN Women project in Egypt called "Securing Rights and Improving Livelihoods for
Women" aims to contribute to the development of three main areas concerning women: firstly, it
will focus on the women’s participation in public sphere and enhancing their economic status;
secondly, the projects targets to increase economic opportunities for women living in rural regions
and to provide them secure source of income; thirdly, to reduce existent gender based violence
against women.
Despite significant discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, the country was elected to the
Commission on the Status of Women for the term of 2018-2022 which was not accepted
unequivocally. Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch expressed her views as following:
“Saudi discrimination against women is gross and systematic in law and in practice. Every Saudi
woman must have a male guardian who makes all critical decisions on her behalf, controlling a
woman’s life from her birth until death. Saudi Arabia bans women from driving cars. Why did the
U.N. choose the world’s leading oppressor of women to promote gender equality and the

24
Ibid.
25
UN Women, Arab states/ North Africa. Retrieved from: http://arabstates.unwomen.org/en/countries/egypt
The Politicon November, 2017
empowerment of women?”26 Even though the main concern of women feminists is the presence of
male guardianship system, government policies has not been changed over the last year with regard
to this system.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the study reveals that despite some positive developments violence and
discrimination against women still is common in MENA region. Women achieved remarkable
changes concerning their personal status law, right to education and access to sufficient healthcare,
however, for maternal mortality and reproductive health of women remain low in Egypt and Saudi
Arabia. Surveys conducted among locals in both countries revealed that women and men share
similar views regarding women’s right to hold any job that they are qualified, to participate in
public sphere and to keep their earnings for themselves. Despite this, women still are harassed,
raped, mentally and physically abused in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The study argues that such discrimination against women could be eliminated through:
-Increasing awareness among women concerning their rights, especially their right to marry and
divorce, since early marriages are still high in case countries and girls are not informed about legal
procedures;
-Fighting against violence against women in state level and to protect women from abusers who
are their family member in most cases by providing shelters;
-Since media is an important player in shaping public attitudes, it would be highly beneficial to use
this tool for promoting equal rights for women and men through successful campaigns.
The study shows that state will is lacking in the sphere of equal rights to men and women.
Therefore, international measures under the provisions of international agreements and
declarations that Saudi Arabia and Egypt are party can force governments to step forward
protecting women in any kind of discriminations against them.

26
UN Watch (2017) No Joke: U.N. Ele ts Saudi Ara ia to Wo e ’s Rights Co issio , For 8-2022 Term
The Politicon November, 2017
Bibliography

1. BBC News (2013) Egypt 'worst for women' out of 22 countries in Arab world. Retrieved
from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24908109

2. Berger, M. & Sonneveld, N. (2010) ‘Shari’a and national law in Egypt’ Leiden University
Press.
3. Human Rights Watch interview with Hassan `Osman, public prosecutor of the district of
Cairo, Cairo, July 7, 2004.
4. Human Rights Watch interview with Marwa Majid, Cairo, June 13, 2004. Retrieved from
https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/egypt1204/egypt1204.pdf
5. Daily News Egypt (2014) Child marriage remains common, despite legal ban. Retrieved
from: https://dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/22/child-marriage-remains-common-despite-
legal-ban/ Egyptian Streets (2017) 600 000 Egyptian women get married before age of
consent: Study. Retrieved from: https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/05/18/600000-egyptian-
women-married-before-age-of-consent-study/
6. UNICEF Press release (2001) UNICEF: Child marriages must stop. Retrieved from:
https://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr21.htm
7. UNICEF (2011) Egypt: MENA gender equality profile. Pg. 3.
8. Hassan M. Women’s rights in the Aftermath of Egypt’s revolution. Euspring, Working
paper No 5. Pg. 4-5. Retrieved from:
http://aei.pitt.edu/67178/1/euspring_paper_5_womans_rights_in_egypt.pdf
9. U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Annual Report 2017. Pg. 6.
Retrieved from: http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/SaudiArabia.2017.pdf
10. Eijk E. (2010) Sharia and national law in Saudi Arabia. Pg. 163.
11. Al Arabia (2016) Domestic violence cases on the rise in Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2016/03/02/Domestic-violence-cases-on-the-rise-in-
Saudi-Arabia.html
12. Hamdan A. (2005) Women and education in Saudi Arabia: challenges and achievements.
International education journal. Pg. 47.
13. International Republican Institute (2015) IRI Poll Finds Saudis Hopeful about Progress of
Gender Equality in Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from: http://www.iri.org/resource/iri-poll-
finds-saudis-hopeful-about-progress-gender-equality-saudi-arabia
14. UN Women, Arab states/ North Africa. Retrieved from:
http://arabstates.unwomen.org/en/countries/egypt
15. UN Watch (2017) No Joke: U.N. Elects Saudi Arabia to Women’s Rights Commission,
For 2018-2022 Term
The Politicon November, 2017
About authors:
Rashad Alakbarov is an independent researcher and currently doing his PhD in Political Science
at Near East University. He holds Bachelor diploma from Azerbaijan University and received
Master degree from Near East University in International Relations. He worked as a lecturer in the
Near East University and Azerbaijan University. His main research interests cover Migration
studies and protection of vulnerable groups, EU migration Policy, Security studies, Political Islam,
the geopolitics of the Middle East.
Ilaha Zeynalli is an independent researcher. She received her Bachelor’s degree in British Studies
from Azerbaijan University of Languages and completed Master’s degree in International
Relations at ADA University. She was an exchange student at Corvinus University of Budapest,
Hungary at the Department of Social Sciences and International Relations for a semester. Her
research interests cover energy geopolitics, Energy Policy of the European Union, geopolitics of
the Middle East, and Russian foreign policy.

Citation for published version (APA):

Alakbarov, R. & Zeynalli, I. (2017) “Evaluation of women rights in the framework of Islamic legal
systems. Country case: Saudi Arabia and Egypt”. The Politicon. Retrived from:
http://thepoliticon.net/essays/434-evaluation-of-women-rights-in-the-framework-of-islamic-
legal-systems-country-case-saudi-arabia-and-egypt.html

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