In the Shadow of the Pyramids: Domestic Violence In Egypt
| DOI | 10.1177/026975800000700303 |
| Date | 01 January 2000 |
| Published date | 01 January 2000 |
| Author | Nawal H. Ammar |
Domestic
Violence:
Global
Responses,
pp.
29-46
©
2000
A B
Academic
Publishers
Printed
in
Great
Britain
IN
THE
SHADOW
OF
THE
PYRAMIDS:
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
IN
EGYPT
NAWALH.AMMAR
Justice
Studies,
Kent
State
University,
Trumbull
Campus,
4314
Mahoning
Ave.,
Warren,
Ohio
44483,
USA
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.
INTRODUCTION
Violence against women
is
a ubiquitous problem. In the last two decades,
feminist political activism has done much to bring the nature and extent
of
this
social scourge to public attention. Feminist scholarship has occupied itself with
identifying the factors associated with the prevalence
of
the problem and with the
range
of
social, political, and legal measures necessary to reduce, if not eliminate,
the incidence
of
violence against women in the home. The ultimate feminist/pro-
womanist objective is to equalize gender relations so that women are no longer
subject to male violence and other forms
of
male control and oppression.1 In
some developing countries, this longer-term objective appears even more
remote.
It
is, however, important to acknowledge the range
of
culturally specific
factors that influence the nature and pace
of
reforming endeavors
in
non-indus-
trial societies.
In this paper, I examine the nature and extent
of
domestic violence against
women in Egypt. A neo-colonial society seeking to modernize and democratize
its social, political, and legal system, Egypt grapples with the yoke
of
its
indigenous, patriarchal, social and neo-colonial values. Specifically, I argue that
30
because the Egyptian criminal justice system replicates the patriarchal organiza-
tion
of
the wider social system, it is unlikely to be able to provide the kinds
of
interventions that the pro-womanists have demanded. Despite the complicating
local and cultural factors, there
is
evidence both
of
individual women's resistance
to family violence and
of
a burgeoning community interest in finding more
appropriate ways
of
dealing with the problem.
EGYPTIAN
WOMEN
AND
PATRIARCHY
Nearly 65 million people live in the Arab Republic
of
Egypt; almost all
of
them
are Sunni Muslims (85%) and share the same Arab ethnic background (96%
).
The rate
of
literacy in Egypt
is
44% for the overall population; figures for female
literacy vary between 35% and 45%. Less than 25% of Egyptian women are in
the paid work force; those who are hold mainly low paying jobs (Wenger, 1987;
p. 12).
Since the 19th century, there has been a movement toward the emancipation
of
Egyptian women. The nationalist revolution
of
1919 provided the initial
impetus, with writers and intellectuals such as Abdu and Amin calling for equal
rights for women, including the right to an education. During the early 20th
century, an Egyptian women's movement, led by the elites, advocated a woman's
right to vote, to work, and to education (Wenger, 1987;
p.
12). Upon inde-
pendence, section 40
of
the new Egyptian Constitution provided that 'citizens
have equal rights and duties and there
is
no discrimination against them due to
sex, origin, language or ideology'.
During the first 20 years
of
independence, Egyptian women made impressive
gains, including the right to vote, to equal pay, and access to free education. In
the 1960s Egypt's first female government minister, Dr Hikmat Abu Zeid, took
office as Minister for Social Affairs, a position still occupied by a woman. But
the early promise
of
nation-building quickly succumbed to the long history
of
Egyptian patriarchy. Despite these initial gains, men remained dominant. Vi-
olence against women
is
one
of
the most obvious manifestations
of
women's
continuing subordination.
Egyptian female children are subjected to various forms
of
discrimination
(Hammoud, 1997). Girls are forced to abandon play
in
order to assist with
household chores, and as preparation for their ultimate roles
as
wives and
mothers. Fifty percent
of
Egyptian girls work illegally
as
child labor rather than
attend school (Harnmoud, 1997; p. 103). Girls are more frequently and more
severely punished than are boys (Bahaii al-Din, 1994b; pp. 8-9). Physical
violence against girls is, however, difficult to document because it
is
usually
unreported even when it results in injury, since disciplining the young is per-
ceived as a familial prerogative and duty. Girls are also forced to marry before
reaching the legal marriageable age (Tadros et al., 1995;
p.
19).2
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