Part 1: Divorce and the Law of Forcible Return for Women

The first part discusses women's rights in the case of dispute with their husbands.

Part 2: Custody and Visitation Rights

The second part explains what custody is, reasons for it, who has this right, the stipulation that a female custodian must be available, the age of custody and fees.

This part gives some examples of lawsuit documents in the following cases:

• How a mother can apply to have custody of her child;
• An application for the child to remain with his female custodian beyond the full age of custody;
• An application, in the case of recession, for the abandonment of custody;
• An application for the mother to choose whether to keep the custody of her child without a custody fee, or to turn him over to a custody volunteer.

The second section of the same booklet discusses briefly the issue of visiting rights to children in custody of another party, who has the right to visit those children, how to resort to the court to obtain this right, and applying rules of visitation.

Finally, the booklet illustrates a form of a lawsuit filed by a grandmother to see her granddaughter and another form of a lawsuit to transfer custody to the next in line due to the party not complying with the rule of visitation.

Part 3: Guardianship procedures

This part was issued by the Legal Aid Program in two sections. The first describes declaration of death, declaration of inheritance, and the guardian’s decree, illustrating somlegal forms of these documents in different cases.

The second section of this book explains guardianship of the money of minors (under age), guardians and sponsors, and the guardian decree.

Forms of application are also illustrated, one for appointing a guardian and another one for dismissing a guardian.

Part 4: Financial Rights of Spouses

This explains the wife’s alimony, types of alimony and how to calculate it, cases of increasing alimony, cases of dropping alimony, how to obtain alimony from the husband and filing a lawsuit of imprisonment due to refusal to pay this alimony and the documents needed in this case. This part also explains some of the wife’s financial rights toward her husband such as the dowry, list of furniture etc.

The book gives examples of some forms of alimony lawsuits (its three kinds), the lawsuit of increasing alimony, the lawsuit of alimony for a past period including a demand for a temporary alimony, the lawsuit of deferred dowry, the lawsuit of wife’s alimony, and the lawsuit of delivery costs.

Part 5: Christian Women’s Rights

The Egyptian family code is valid for all Egyptians, but there are still some affairs related to Christian legislation, which necessitates the issue of a part of same series of booklets “A-B Law” for Christian women in order to realize the full benefits of the whole series.

This book provides Christian women with a simple explanation of her legal rights in the Family Code. It describes engagement, marriage, how Christians get married outside of Egypt, how to register the marriage contract officially, and reasons for breaking the marriage contract. Finally, rules of alimony in the Family Code for Christian women are detailed.

Part 6: Law of Cheques

This part was issued after ECWR discovered that there are many lawsuits against women for signing uncovered cheques, especially those used to pay in instalments for expensive goods.

It describes what a cheque is, terms for using cheques correctly, the difference between a cheque and any other paper money, the crime of issuing an uncovered cheque, and the penalty for this under Egyptian law.

Part 7: Undocumented Marriage

This part was issued at the time undocumented marriage became a common phenomenon in Egyptian society, in order to avoid misunderstanding and to correct information women have on this kind of marriage.

It explains the following:

• Definition of undocumented marriage;
• Reasons for the spread of undocumented marriage
• The terms which must be observed and the consequences of neglecting one of these terms in the marriage contract;
• Legal ways to prove the marriage;
• Both parties (men’s and women’s) rights and duties in undocumented marriage;
• The consequences of denying this marriage;
• Kinship of children;
• Divorce in the case of undocumented marriage.

Finally, the book covers some legal problems related to undocumented marriage, and also indicates some examples of legal papers needed to follow up lawsuits.

Part 8: El khul (divorce)

This part was issued after the law of litigation procedures in the Family Code was passed that is known as El Khul law.

It explains El Khul legally and legislatively and gives the reasons for passing this law. It also explains the procedures to file khul lawsuits, the difference between divorce and khul and ways to appeal the verdicts ruled in khul cases.

Various other legal issues were also discussed in this booklet, such as the disputation on wife’s right to travel, the option of a lawyer’s signature on lawsuit documents before the partial court, divorce in the case of undocumented marriage and proving this divorce, and the Family Court.

Part 9: Rental Law

The Legal Aid program mainly aims to spread legal awareness among women. This part was issued to explain in detail the rental law issued in 1996 and known as “ The New Rental Law”, the difference between this and other rental laws, and the changes within them.

The booklet gives a definition of a rental contract, its terms, and the obligations of both the renter and owner, ways to prove rental contracts, and finally the expiration of a rental contract.

Part 10: Labor Law

This explains the labor law for Egyptian women. It gives a definition of labor law, the difference between labor dependence connection and subordination, forms of wages and attachments, salaries, periodical rewards, rewards for high sales, bonuses…etc.

This part also explains rules for wage settlement, and the minimum range of wages. Temporary and contingent labor contracts are also explained, and the penalty of breaching rules of wages in labor law.

Part 11: Rent of Places for Non-Housing Purposes

This part explains the reasons for amendments to articles of the rental law concerning this point, specifying the places covered by this law and those not covered.

It also explains cases of legal extension for places rented for non-housing purposes, legal increases in the rent and the consequences of not paying this increase.

Part 12: Self-Employment Contracts

It describes in detail the individual work contract, its terms, how to prove it, the obligations of both the employee and employer, disciplinary penalties, rules of women’s employment, and finally, the expiration of a work contract.

Part 13: Personal Wills

This explains the issue of wardship on beneficiaries, or those who might not be legal beneficiaries and the benefactor wants to leave them more than they are officially entitled to.

Part 14: Legal Evidence and the Courts

This describes the difference between different types of courts and the meaning of judge autonomy. We consider this as a complementary part of a series of information we have produced for women in a simple way to enable them to depend on themselves and to be more aware of the laws that govern them.

Part 15: Nationality Law

This part explains the Egyptian Nationality Law and the discrimination against women within it. This law does not allow Egyptian women who are married to non-Egyptian men the right to pass on their nationality to their children. This causes many problems if they choose to remain in Egypt, and even this right is not guaranteed. This law also prevents non-Egyptian men from taking Egyptian nationality if married to an Egyptian woman. This booklet explains the legal process and conditions of such a marriage.

Part 16: Protection of Women in the Penal Code

This explains the meaning of violence against girls and women, who commits this violence and the legal situation in the case that the offender is a member of the same family as the victim. It also details the kind of protection the law offers and gives examples of different kinds of violence, including FGM, beating, sexual abuse, rape and abortion.

Part 17: Women and the Inheritance Law

This is one of the most important issues affecting women as it is often used as a basis to attack women's rights. The study documents a large number of different types of inheritance in old and modern works, in addition to the philosophy of inheritance in the Islamic School and in Sunna and Shiaa Islam. As it is such a sensitive subject, and 'A-B Law' is an educational series, we concentrate on Egyptian family law and discuss discrimination against women and inheritance from different perspectives.