- Atif Abdel Hamid
- BBC Arabic journalist
5 hours ago
The divorce rate in Egypt increased by 14.7 percent in 2021
When I started writing this report, I thought that it would be easy to reach people who could openly talk about their divorce experience, and the reasons for it, but it was not easy, perhaps because of what society views this issue as mostly a personal issue. times.
Data issued last week by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics in Egypt indicated a significant increase in the divorce rate in 2021, compared to the previous year, at 14.7 percent.
The new statistics stated that divorce cases in 2021 recorded an increase of 254 thousand and 777 cases, compared to the number of divorce cases recorded in 2020, which amounted to 222 thousand and 39 cases.
Role-playing
Nihal, who chose not to reveal her real name, and who works in a prestigious job in the Egyptian capital, was the first to agree to talk to us about her divorce experience and the most important reasons for her separation.
Nihal, who is 42 years old and has two children, said: “For 12 years of marriage, I have been required to be the wife, mother, nanny, and maid, in addition to succeeding in my work that requires me exceptional time and effort.”
She added, “Not only that, I was doing all these roles. But the real disaster was that an endless long list of tasks was always waiting for me, as I had to take care of my parents and in-laws, accompany the children to sports training in the clubs. And above all that. I had to be the beauty queen with whom her husband would spend happy times whenever he wanted to.”
Hoda Zakaria, a professor of sociology in Egypt, believes that the “role conflict” in society between men and women, and the dispute over the duties and rights of each party, is one of the main reasons behind the spread of this phenomenon.
Huda Zakaria told the BBC: “Divorce is basically the result of a disease, which I prefer to call a lack of compliance or flexibility in the face of the changes that have taken place in society. A young girl has become educated like boys, working as a doctor and a university professor, and holding high positions, and despite this social change is still Some members of the community see her as ‘Amina, Si al-Sayed’s wife’.
She added, “Egyptian society is dominated by a patriarchal culture, and the man’s role in the family depends on asking about the wife and children and getting to know the family’s developments. He does not want to be involved in the marital relationship to an extent that may upset him.”
exacerbate pressures Economic
Some spoke to us about the role of financial pressures in the occurrence of divorce, and Egypt has been affected economically in recent years, like many countries of the world, in the wake of the outbreak of the Corona virus, which affected a number of vital sectors in the country, most notably the tourism sector, and then the outbreak of the Russian war on Ukraine , and the consequent record price hike in many countries of the world.
Until recently, Egypt, as the world’s largest importer of wheat, relied on Russia and Ukraine for its wheat needs.
Fatima, who is a divorced mother of four children and lives in the Imbaba area in Giza governorate, told the BBC: “The divorce occurred mainly because my husband’s low income, who worked in construction, was no longer able to provide for the needs of the house, which led to several family disputes. I eventually got divorced.”
She added, “My husband did not find work from which he could get a good income enough to spend on the children and their education and lessons, and enough to pay the rent and the gas, water and electricity bills, so the daily disputes between us frequently flared up.”
Somaya, who preferred not to reveal her real name, is a 31-year-old mother of two children, who lives in a popular Cairo neighborhood, told BBC: “I was carrying a lot of burdens with my husband, who does not work, and even used drugs. He carried me.” The burdens of the house, children and spending on all of that, in addition to spending on him personally.”
picture released, Getty Images
The current economic crisis in Egypt is among the most important factors that led to the high rate of divorce
Sumaya admits that she used to buy her husband narcotics, which he used at her own expense, in order to avoid getting into quarrels with him.
Sumaya said that she was bearing the hardship of work and spending many times the normal hours in her work so that she could rise to those burdens in the hope that one day her husband would quit drugs and turn into a good person.
But she pointed out that the deteriorating economic conditions and the crazy rise in prices made her stand idly by and could not bear all these burdens alone, and then the divorce occurred.
Domestic violence
“My husband used to beat me for trivial reasons, even after years of marriage and three children,” Maha, who is a pseudonym, told the BBC. “The beating was his usual practice.”
She added, “There are indelible marks and scars all over my body from the beatings. I even started to feel embarrassed when I looked at myself in the mirror. He used to beat me as if he was enjoying torturing me. I’m patient with that, but when I turned thirty-seven I couldn’t stand it anymore and resolved to divorce, and it did happen.”
picture released, Getty Images
The Egyptian society’s view of women has not changed much, despite their participation in most work sectors, says sociology professor Hoda Zakaria
Hoda Zakaria, a professor of sociology, confirmed that violence against women is rampant among Egyptian families to an astonishing extent, as the result of a question I asked divorced and divorced women about the practice of violence within the family was shocking. and insult.
The sociology professor said: “We had a discussion through what is known as a ‘focus group’ with the participation of a number of divorced women and men, who all admitted that violence against women is frequently practiced.
She added: “One of the participants asked me to take her to another room to talk to me in private, and indeed we went, and she revealed to me very long hair that almost touched her knees, and she said, ‘Look at my long hair, my husband wrapped it on his hand and pulled me from him hard and kept kicking me in the back until I went into labour, when I was in the ninth month of pregnancy.”
Zakaria said that one of the reasons for divorce in the recent period is that society strives to find motives for marriage among young men and girls, even if by warning young people against slipping into vice, and warning girls against spinsterhood. But at the same time, she sees that society does not create motives for maintaining the marital relationship that everyone pushes to establish.
The professor of sociology also talked about the role of cinema and drama in portraying marriage at times as a beautiful emotional relationship only, in which the two parties do not suffer from any problems or obstacles in life, which may cause shock to married couples that may lead to divorce as well with their first ordeal. in their lives.