Progress Amid Resistance

EGYPT 99a husband or father can still restrict a woman’s travel if he obtains a courtorder to that effect, for example to prevent the woman’s flight during achild-custody dispute. 30 Social restrictions regarding appropriate behaviorfor women inhibit freedom of movement, particularly for those who livein rural areas and belong to socially and religiously conservative families.The notion that a man has the right to prohibit his wife from leaving thehouse, while still prevalent, is being increasingly contested even in ruralcontexts. Generally speaking, women of all backgrounds exercise theiragency by seeking to negotiate the terms of their mobility, and they oftendo so successfully, enabling them to pursue greater opportunities for educationor employment.Violence against women is a serious problem in Egypt, and no lawspecifically prohibits domestic abuse. Family violence can theoretically beprosecuted under the penal code provisions that prohibit bodily injury ingeneral, but this has largely been ineffective, partly because Article 60 of thepenal code excuses acts that have been committed in “good faith” pursuantto a right established under Shari‘a. Since Shari‘a is often deemed to permitthe “disciplining” of “disobedient” women, this article has been employedto excuse domestic violence, so long as the beating is not severe and is notdirected at the face or other critical areas. 31 Very few mechanisms are currentlyin place to protect women or provide adequate support for victims ofabuse. The state runs seven shelters for abused women, but husbands andfamily members have access to the facilities, and they are viewed more ascenters for rehabilitation and mediation than as true sanctuaries.One private organization, the Association for the Development andEn hancement of Women, set up its own shelter—Beit Hawa, or theHouse of Eve—in 2006. 32 It is free of charge and enforces strict securitymeasures to provide abused women and their children with a senseof safety. However, it is constantly threatened with closure due to lack ofresources. 33 Women’s rights activists have continued to push for increasedmedia attention on the subject of gender-based violence, making it a lesstaboo topic in recent years, but there is no conclusive evidence that morebattered women are seeking redress.Honor killings, the most extreme form of gender-based violence, stilloccur in Egypt. Such murders are often based on nothing more than rumorsabout the woman’s behavior. Patriarchal control over women, rising socialand religious conservatism, and the tribal system that remains prevalent inrural areas and among urban people of rural origin have all contributed to