For more than two years, Sabah, an Egyptian woman in her 40s, has been trying to obtain proof of her ex-husband’s monthly income so the Family Court in Giza governorate will require him to provide her a monthly payment that ensures a decent standard of living for their three daughters. Sabah, who didn’t want her last name published, said that her ex-husband divorced her several years ago and married another woman because he wanted to have sons.

She told Al-Monitor her husband is a state employee with the Ministry of Education for which he receives a monthly salary of 1,700 Egyptian pounds ($191), but he also has been involved in trade ventures for 16 years that bring in more than 20,000 pounds ($2,252) a month. Sabah told Al-Monitor that she can’t obtain proof of his full monthly income, because he never registered his trade activities with the commercial registry. She fears that, if the courts rely only on his state salary, her monthly alimony will only amount to around 850 pounds ($96) — an amount she says is much too low to provide a decent life for her girls.

Sabah, like thousands of other divorced women in Egypt, faces significant difficulties due to the Personal Status Law, which requires divorced women wait at least one year from the date of filing for alimony to receive payment. In addition, the court’s procedures to determine the husband’s income often take a long time, and women frequently complain that the court relies on an income less than the actual amount due to efforts by the husband to hide his true earnings.

According to Article 76 of Egypt’s Personal Status Law, a divorced woman shall receive 25% of her husband’s monthly income in alimony if they have no children. If they have one or two children, this rises to 40%, and if they have more than two, it is 50%.