Across the Middle East and North Africa, discriminatory family laws deny women and girls equal rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance, and guardianship.
Members of the Hurra Coalition (http://Hurra-Coalition.net), comprising 13 feminist and human rights organisations from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), convened their annual meeting in Istanbul to assess progress in their joint campaigns and strategies for comprehensive family law reform. The discussions focused on the Coalition’s three key pillars: ending child marriage, ensuring women’s financial rights, and securing mothers’ rights to custody and guardianship after divorce.
As one of the Coalition’s founding members and its elected secretariat, Equality Now (http://EqualityNow.org) reaffirmed its call on governments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to take concrete and urgent steps to end discriminatory family laws undermining women’s and girls’ rights to equality and justice.
In her opening remarks, Dr Dima Dabbous, Equality Now’s Regional Representative for MENA, emphasised: “This gathering is a critical moment to renew our shared commitment to reform laws that entrench discrimination against women. Together, we are building a united civil front that insists on equality, justice, and full citizenship for women and girls across the Arab world.”
Child marriage – changing minds alongside changing laws
Hurra Coalition members highlighted child marriage as one of the most harmful manifestations of gender discrimination, depriving girls of education, safety, and dignity.
Hala Abdelkader, Executive Director of the Egyptian Foundation for Family Development (http://apo-opa.co/4r065xe), presented the organisation’s national campaign against child marriage in rural communities surrounding Greater Cairo. Through interactive workshops targeting families and local leaders, the initiative has helped shift perceptions, with Abdelkader noting that “Communities are beginning to recognise child marriage as a form of violence and discrimination, not as a social custom.”
In Palestine, Sama Aweida, Director of the Women’s Studies Centre (http://apo-opa.co/485jdcR), shared the outcomes of their national campaign on ending child marriage conducted across Nablus, Jerusalem, and Hebron. Since 2023, the campaign has engaged over 250 workshops and dialogues with community members and school students on the dangers of child marriage. She warned, “Judicial exceptions that allow child marriages under legal pretexts remain a dangerous loophole that must be closed.”
Houda Mouqer, Project Coordinator at Mains Libres (http://apo-opa.co/43W0X36) Organisation in Morocco, presented the campaign led by the organisation to abolish the exceptions related to the legal age of marriage in the proposed amendments to the Moudawana or Family Code. She noted that several dialogue meetings were organised with civil society organisations and parliamentary groups, saying:
“We call for the complete abolition of this exception and for raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 for everyone, without any exceptions, in line with international conventions.”
Meanwhile, Gulshan Sijlam, Director of Basme International (http://apo-opa.co/4p3FWeZ) Group in Lebanon, highlighted the institution’s role in national advocacy to implement suspended legal decrees such as Decision No. 62 of 2020 from Sunni Sharia courts, which sets a minimum marriage age of 18 for the Sunni sect.
Strengthening women’s financial rights across the Arab region
The discussions also focused on women’s persistent legal and procedural barriers in securing their financial rights after divorce or the death of their husbands, including maintenance, shared property division, and fair compensation.
Ghinwa Chinder, Campaigns Manager of the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women (http://apo-opa.co/4oDYeno) explained how women often endure “long and costly legal battles” to obtain alimony or a share of jointly acquired assets, urging for systemic legal reform and stronger enforcement.
In Tunisia, Samia Melki Fessi, Director General of Kadirat (http://apo-opa.co/4oBUZgk), presented findings from a high-level consultation on gaps in the enforcement of joint property division laws, calling for amendments to guarantee equality between spouses.
From Kurdistan, Iraq, Lara Maarouf of ASUDA (http://apo-opa.co/4qSog7S) discussed efforts to reactivate the alimony fund for divorced women and explore new collaboration frameworks to ensure sustainable support mechanisms.
In Palestine, Faten Nabhan of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (http://apo-opa.co/488L8bU) discussed the practical challenges of raising awareness on the issue of marital property division. The centre has carried out digital awareness campaigns and specialised training for lawyers on providing legal aid to women in such cases, stressing the need to simplify legal procedures and ensure the effective implementation of rulings so women can access justice.
In this context, legal expert Nasser Al Rayes presented an extensive study on alimony rights in the Arab world, identifying legislative gaps and enforcement challenges. He emphasised that achieving economic justice for women requires “a comprehensive legal and social approach.”
From Bahrain, legal and Sharia expert Zahra Saleh Ibrahim presented the results of a study on applying the principle of “Kadd and S‘aya” (or toil and effort), which recognises women’s contribution to family income even in the absence of formal contracts. She explained how the study rooted this principle in Sunni and Jaafari Shiite jurisprudence and discussed the challenges women face in accessing justice based on real-life experiences.
Reforming family law and child custody rights in MENA countries
Coalition members also discussed the ongoing challenges surrounding child custody, emphasising the need for laws that prioritise the best interests of the child and protect mothers’ rights.
Rabha Fathy, President of the Association for Egyptian Female Lawyers (http://apo-opa.co/4qSZaph), highlighted the ongoing legal campaign supporting women with disabilities and their rights to custody and alimony, while advocating for amendments in Egypt’s current Family Law draft that address their specific needs.
From Algeria, Nadia Ait Zai, Executive Director of the Centre for Information and Documentation on the Rights of Children and Women (http://apo-opa.co/4qTwz3p), emphasised that “Work is ongoing to advocate for the repeal of Paragraph 1 of Article 66 of the Family Code, which deprives a wife of her right to custody if she remarries after divorce.”
Badriya Al Marzouq, Head of the Family Law Unit at the Bahraini Women’s Union (http://apo-opa.co/4qW1Jam), noted that the Union has submitted a proposal to Bahrain’s Parliament to amend specific articles of the Personal Status Law. While awaiting review in the current session, the Union is preparing a new set of amendments, including those related to custody, to be presented once the current proposals are approved.
Building a youth movement in MENA for women’s equal rights.
The Hurra Coalition is committed to creating space for integrating young people across the Arab region, training them in legal and media advocacy, and helping them build regional networks with other organisations.
Six young women from Egypt and Jordan participated in this year’s meeting. Rahaf Al Obaidat from the Darbna Network (http://apo-opa.co/4qUozip) for Young Women in Jordan stated: “Being among a group of organisations working on women’s rights from various Arab countries is an important and inspiring opportunity that allows me to approach gender equality from a broader perspective. I no longer see it only as a national issue within my country’s borders, but as part of a larger human struggle in which we all have a role.”
A shared path toward just and equal laws for women and girls
Concluding the meeting, Naglaa Sarhan, Equality Now MENA Legal Adviser and Hurra Coalition Coordinator, emphasised that the Coalition’s true strength lies in “its diversity of experiences and its unified goal, reforming family laws across the Arab region based on equality and justice.” The Coalition’s member organisations reaffirmed their commitment to continued coordination, knowledge sharing, and the launch of new regional initiatives to advance legal and social justice for women and girls.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Equality Now.
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About:
Equality Now (www.EqualityNow.org) is a worldwide human rights organisation dedicated to securing the legal and systemic change needed to end discrimination against all women and girls, everywhere in the world. Since its inception in 1992, it has played a role in reforming 120 discriminatory laws globally, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of women and girls, their communities and nations, both now and for generations to come.
Working with partners at national, regional, and global levels, Equality Now draws on deep legal expertise and a diverse range of social, political, and cultural perspectives to continue to lead the way in steering, shaping, and driving the change needed to achieve enduring gender equality, to the benefit of all.
As a founding member of the Hurra Coalition, Equality Now was appointed its Secretariat in 2023. Equality Now has bolstered members’ capacities in various areas, including campaign strategy, legal and media advocacy, engagement with policy and decision-makers, and fostering active participation among young activists in the MENA region.
For more details, go to www.EqualityNow.org
About:
The Hurra Coalition (https://Hurra-Coalition.net) is a regional network of feminist and human rights organisations across the Middle East and North Africa working to reform discriminatory family laws and ensure equality and justice for women and girls. Established in 2019 as an initiative by Equality Now and six founding members, it serves as a platform for solidarity, legal advocacy, and coordinated regional campaigning.
Today, Hurra includes 13 national women’s rights organisations from nine Arab countries, encompassing legal associations, research centres, anti-violence institutions, and development organisations. This diversity enables the coalition to draw on deep national expertise and collective regional strategies to advance reform.
For more information, visit https://Hurra-Coalition.net
