Egypt Appoints First Female Maazun To Perfom Weddings, Divorces

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - Women's rights and religious tradition came to a head this week after the Egyptian government appointed the first female maazun in the Islamic world. Amal Soliman, 32, has been given duties under Egyptian and Islamic law the power to authorize marriage and divorce contracts.

The decision has sparked controversy in the largely male-dominated society of Egypt, many who see the appointment of Soliman to be "haram" (forbidden) in Islam.

"It's not right. There is no way a woman can do the job of conducting marriages," Ahmed, 22, told AHN Media Corporation. He believes that couples will not go to her for their marriages and she will eventually lose her position.

An issue that has arisen as a result of Soliman, a mother of three, being given the maazun position is whether she can carry out her duties during her menstruation period.

According to Islamic tradition, a woman is not allowed to pray or read the Qur'an at a mosque during the monthly menstruation. Soliman told reporters that during this period each month she would perform weddings at people's homes or elsewhere outside the mosque.

"There are no religious texts banning a Muslim woman from being a maazun," Al-Azhar's deputy director Sheikh Fawzi Zafzaf, said in a statement.

"But when a woman is menstruating she must not enter a mosque or read Koranic verses and that will affect her job, so for this reason we say it is not advisable to have a woman maazun," he added.