In the Shadow of the Pyramids: Domestic Violence In Egypt

Abstract

Domestic violence in Egypt shares many of the features identified in Western-feminist scholarship: the hidden or invisible nature of the problem, the tendency toward ‘victim blaming’, and the failure to make adequate provision for social and other support for women living with violence. In Egypt, however, these problems are exacerbated by the rigid interpretation of Qur'anic law and the patriarchal values that condone the use of violence against wives as a legitimate form of discipline. Women also have fewer options compared to their sisters in other parts of the world, especially in the developed countries. It is, however, a mistake to treat women subjected to violence in developing countries as the most pitiable of all oppressed women. For Egyptian women, the real danger comes not from overbearing patriarchy but from a passive acquiescence in its inevitability. As the stories of resistance to violence, including tales of women who kill their husbands, demonstrate, women under such conditions adopt strategies that defy patriarchal norms. The consequences of their behavior, however, are often more severe for women who display uncharacteristic activism. These women were the catalyst for pro-womanists in Egypt to develop culturally specific responses, including a change in Shari'a interpretations to allow women to be employed in criminal justice agencies, a call for a more enlightened codification of Qur'anic law and the development of support services to deal with the problems.