AboutDeborah Dray Expertise I can offer advice to Non-Egyptian women who are in a relationship with Egyptian men and feeling confused. Many, but far from all, women meet their partners while on holiday in Egypt. The circumstances vary but in any situation there is almost no unbiased advice, let alone factual and complete information, currently available to the very many women who find themselves each year in utterly uncharted territory. The culture is vastly different from that in the "West", the learning curve is steep and the "facts" depend on many variants, but I will do my best to help where I can. I am compiling a knowledge base, including details of Egyptian law, but also about customs, lifestyles and the experiences of other women. There is no "Yes" or "No" answer to whether a particular relationship or lifestyle will work out for a given individual but by entering into it with open eyes, an informed view and sensible support the experience will be a more positive one.
Experience I am British, married to an Egyptian since 1997 and have lived with my partner in the UK and in Egypt, both with and without my in-laws. I have two children, both of whom were born in Egypt. We have lived in Cairo since 2004. After all this time I am still learning about how it is to be married to an Egyptian and live in Egypt. It is a long learning curve. I regularly encounter women who have been disappointed with their relationship with an Egyptian and their lives in Egypt, as well as others who are happy with both. I am in contact with the obvious official bodies in Cairo (British Embassy, Community Services Association) as well as outside (I.A.F. in Frankfurt) who might have any information or help at all for women in relationships with Egyptians. I have found them all predominantly lacking in practical advice. I am keen to do something to rectify this and am interested to hear from any women who are or who have been in relationships with Egyptian men who might be interested to participate in surveys or who have topics they feel need covering, such as the "gigolos of Hurghada" (and elsewhere), child custody law, circumcision, your teenage mixed-marriage daughter, the relationship with your mother in law, Egyptian toilette, taxation, property and business ownership, safety, the childbirth experience in Egypt, conversion to Islam, contact between the sexes etc. etc.
Education/Credentials M.A. University of Cambridge, U.K. (unrelated subject).
Question In September 2008 I signed an orfi contract in a lawyers office in front of 2 witnesses, whilst on holiday I had met the egyptian man concerned on an earlier visit that year. I then returned to the UK. I have never seen the egyptian man again. He kept the original and I have a photocopy its all in English and marked with a dowry equivalent to £10 nothing in arabic. I wish to return to Egypt again on a family holiday. My questions is will I have any complications whilst over in Egypt? ie: could he have done anything with that contract even though i don't speak to him anymore, could he stop me from leaving Egypt if somehow he knew I was returning there and is this whole contract legal ? i have read so many different opinions. Any advise you can offer is much appreciated
Answer Hello
I would normally suggest that you contact a lawyer and get proper advice but as lawyers are so poorly qualified in Egypt I'm not sure that would be very effective. Equally, I don't want to be doling out what might be construed as legal advice on a public website so I don't believe I should answer this!
All I will say is that if your statement is correct and if it were me then I would worry more about some guy (or the thought of some guy) spoiling my nice holiday than about him actually having a legal hold. If he does find you and you perceive you have a problem you may email me on allexperts@egyptianshop.com and we can arrange to talk about it.
If you do talk to a lawyer in Egypt (and you could do, it might put your mind at rest) then please email me to tell me what he said - I can compare it with what our lawyer says on the topic!
I hope you do enjoy a nice holiday, somewhere!
Debbie
