Legal reform in Egypt establishing Family Courts with mandatory mediation ( see Mulki Al-Sharmani: Egypt's family courts: route to empowerment? )   and the introduction of no fault divorce proceedings known as ‘khola'  is prompting discussion about relations between men and women in marriage, including women's sexual rights. As the government and women's rights organisations talk about further legal reforms, the assumptions of the law makers are increasingly being called into question.

Mulki al Sharmani and Sawsan Sherif  are based at the Social Research Centre of the American University in Cairo and have been monitoring the work of two family courts, looking at how the reforms are working for women on the ground. They spoke to Jane Gabriel in Cairo about some surprising findings of their research.

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