Did You Know That: In Egypt, divorce is the prerogative of
the husband and just a matter of being verbally declared by Muslim men to their
spouses. Egypt has the highest number of divorce rate in the world. Over 40
percent of married couples divorce within the first four years of marriage in
Egypt.
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| President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sissi of Egypt |
President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sissi of Egypt recently stated he
was alarmed by the high rate of divorce in the country and would like to see
divorce being regulated by a state authorized body rather than by the simple pronunciation
of a Muslim husband dissatisfied with his wife. President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sissi said in a
televised address that he has recently learned from the head of the state
Statistics Bureau that about 40 percent of Egypt’s 900,000 annual marriages end
in divorce after five years.
The president suggested that legislation should be
adopted making a divorce only legally valid when it is done before a “maazoun,”
an authorized cleric appointed by the government to officiate marriage and
divorce. While this does occur, many Muslim husbands are said to prefer divorcing
their spouses verbally, frequently in the heat of an argument. This may later
be formally documented.
