The State of Marriage in Egypt

This chapter overviews the institutional, legal and religious framework for the institution of marriage in Egypt. It also aims to identify the challenges faced by Egyptian youth to form a family and recommends a list of policies and changes in the laws and regulations to meet the societal evolution and needs. Marriage remains the solely socially accepted form of union between a man and a woman in Egypt. And, Egypt is among the countries that has the highest costs of marriage in the world (namely because of housing). Therefore, Egyptian youth have no alternative but to delay marriage in order to save for its expenses. And, women tend to engage more in the labor market before marriage to help pitch in with the costs, while men may turn to temporary migration, namely to the Gulf, to speed up the saving process when faced by rising unemployment rates in Egypt. This chapter calls for the revision of the Egyptian family law with regards to gender segregation, control of marital relations and divorce, and custody matters. The legal text also needs to be adjusted for more gender equality and ban teenage marriage, namely for women. And, efforts are needed to make the private sector as attractive to working married women as it is to their males’ counterparts. This can be done by allowing a higher level of flexibility in the working conditions.