CAIRO — Following repeated complaints by many Muslims on the rights of women in the current personal status law, and the daily impact of the absence of a clear law regulating divorce among Christians, the Egyptian parliament was hoping to issue, or at least to start discussions in May-June, of new personal status laws for Muslims and Christians — but these hopes were in vain. 

After a breakthrough seemed to be looming in the debate of a unified personal status law for non-Muslims in Egypt, things went back to square one when the Egyptian Catholic Church announced June 14 that it needed to study these proposals further despite its approval thereof in April.

The current Personal Status Law in Egypt drew criticism from many Christians as it fails to manage marriage, divorce and inheritance affairs, among other issues. This prompted former Orthodox Pope Shenouda III to suggest in 2008 a unified personal status law for all Christians.

However, Christians have since 2008 failed to agree on a unified personal status law, and the current debate in church circles revolves around insanity, impotence and infectious diseases, for instance, that would allow divorce.