The Head of the National Council for Women Maya Morsi called to amend the financial guardianship law so that minor children rights are transferred to the mother within 48 hours of the father’s death.
The current law gives the grandfather financial guardianship over the children in the event of the father’s death.
The Family Affairs Prosecution monitors the person in charge of the financial guardianship, she said, which must be transferred to the mother immediately after the death of the father.
During a telephone interview with Lamis al-Hadidi on Egypt’s “Last Word” (Kalema Akhera) television show on ON satellite channel, Morsi said that guardianship must be transferred to the mother within 48 hours of the death of the father, similar to the transfer of the marital home upon divorce.
She indicated that the best interest of the child requires that the guardianship be for the mother, and not for the grandfather, adding: “Any possible law won’t emerge from outside the outlines that have been set.”
“We (women) run institutions, banks and companies, and it is not normal to say that (financial) guardianship will not be transferred to the mother for fear of losing the children’s rights,” she added.
“We need speed in the decisions issued by the Public Prosecution,” praising the role of Egyptian TV dramas which have helped shed light over this and other societal issues.
