CAIRO — An Egyptian lawyer has called for the establishment of a national council to advocate for men’s rights. On the TV program “Hona al-Kahera” Feb. 14, attorney Essam Hajjaj said, “The national council will aim to support men harmed by the personal status laws issued during the last 20 years and passed with the support of the National Council for Women.”

He explained, “The personal status laws proved to be biased toward women, especially Law No. 1 of 2000 known as the Khula Law [permitting no-fault divorce] that completely destroyed Egyptian families, with a divorce case occurring every four minutes. Egyptian divorced women get custody of their children until they turn 15 while fathers get limited visitation rights.”

Article 20 of the Khula Law specifies that if two spouses do not mutually agree on divorce, the wife files a claim requesting khula, which waives all of her lawful financial rights. The provision has made it legally much easier for Egyptian women to get divorced, though they still risk losing everything.

On Feb. 10 on “al-Ashira Masaan” (Ten PM) on Egypt’s Dream 2 channel. Hajjaj had accused the National Council for Women (NCW) of harming men’s rights through its positions and laws it has drafted and endorsed since its establishment. “We have not seen a similar council for men's affairs,” he said.