Divorced fathers call for change in law

Cairo: Ahmad Al Shazli, a divorced father, finds it hard to believe he cannot see his five-year-old son for more than three hours a week.

"This unfair restriction is one of the glaring violations stipulated in the laws issued upon orders from the lady Suzan," he said sarcastically, referring to the wife of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. "These laws, that lay out rules on the rights of custody of children and seeing them after a marriage break-up, obviously tilt to women at the expense of fathers," he added.

Under these laws, dubbed by detractors as the Suzan Mubarak laws, divorced fathers are allowed to see their children for three hours a week. They complain the laws give women custody of sons until the age of 15 and daughters until they get married. The men want the custody age reduced to seven years for sons and nine for girls. "I thought that these unjust laws would be scrapped after Mubarak's fall. But I was a fool," said Al Shazli.

Protests

Hundreds of divorced fathers have staged protests outside government headquarters in Cairo since Mubarak's removal last year. The protesters, joined by Islamists, also demand a present law allowing children to travel abroad without their fathers' approval, be revoked.

Nehad Abul Qumsan, secretary-general of the National Council for Women, said: "The revolution [against Mubarak] was staged to remove injustices, not to add to them.

"The present family laws do not duly establish rules of citizenship and human rights in Egypt. However, amending these laws should not be pursued under pressure from men who seek to take revenge on their former wives."