Divorce in Egypt

Al-Ahram Column by Sameh Fawzy (14/08/2021)

According to the statistics, divorce is becoming more frequent. It mostly happens in the early years of marriage. People disagree on the reasons and explanations. But the general sentiment is that divorce has become "normalized". People talk about it socially and no longer consider it as extremely shameful and try to hide it.

There is no appropriate social and political reaction to the danger this poses to society. Many people consider the traditional "engagement" an appropriate solution, although it is rather a part of the problem. There is also a false perception that divorce is mainly a religious issue, an issue that should be treated by the religious authorities. On the contrary, its social side is more important and related to the generational conflict and the "revolution of expectations".Unfortunately, there a very few social analysts in Egypt who think and write about such topics. Too few people have access to expert knowledge and expert guidance on a contemporary scientific level, and this negatively affects to treatment of social problems.