10%

Access to Justice in Egypt

A project supported by UNDP helps vulnerable people, particularly women, navigate the country's legal system

By United Nations Development Programme

March 8^th, 2015

On a busy Sunday, the Family Court in the Heliopolis neighborhood of Cairo bustles with activity. It is just one of a network of 257 Family Courts across Egypt that together see up to a million cases filed each year, almost 80 percent of them by women. UNDP spent the day at a Legal Aid Office set up inside the courthouse to hear the stories of some of the people seeking justice in cases that range from domestic violence and custody disputes to alimony and inheritance litigation.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Omaima Abdel Khaleq is typical of many of the vulnerable women who come seeking help at the Legal Aid Office, which was established as part of a project started in 2008 by Egypt’s ministeries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, Sweden’s International Development Agency and UNDP.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Omaima has come to file a repudiation case against her husband for violence and abuse. Women like Omaima, often poor and illiterate, face huge challenges in completing the necessary paperwork with the courts. The Legal Aid Office is able to offer assistance, as well as legal advice concerning claims.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Access to Justice in Egypt

“When I came to file the case, a woman who filed one before, told me she would take me to an assistance office. The office made me aware of many things I didn’t know. It made me aware of what exactly I should do instead of being lost among lawyers. It provided me with free services, everything was free.”

Access to Justice in Egypt

The project is active in seven Governorates across Egypt, with 32 legal aid offices assisting thousands of women like Omaima. providing them with support in filing their cases and allowing their voices to be heard.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Access to Justice in Egypt

The project includes a website with an interactive map featuring locations of Family Courts and a host of other information.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Access to Justice in Egypt

Back at the office in Heliopolis, a new case has arrived.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Staff interview the woman and take down her details before offering advice on how to move forward.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Access to Justice in Egypt

Access to Justice in Egypt

By December 2014, since its inception the project has assisted in 45,674 cases. This woman is seeking help in a child custody case.

Access to Justice in Egypt

“My husband and I are divorced. I repudiated him. Then, he took my elder daughter, kidnapped her, and I did not know how to get her. And I did not find any one to ask. Each time I went to the court I came back with my problem unresolved. When I came to the Legal Assistant office, it told me what to do, arranged the steps to follow, and now I am following the procedures.”

Access to Justice in Egypt

The project is not exclusive to women - anyone who requires legal assistance is welcomed. This man has come for information on an inheritance case.

Access to Justice in Egypt

In fact, the Legal Aid Offices are just one element of the project, which also includes training of staff, roundtables for family court judges and assistance with digitizing and automating records in the family court system. Counselor Gihane El Batouty, pictured below, is the project manager. She says that, overall, the project is designed to empower poor and marginalized groups to access remedies for their grievances and overcome obstacles that prevent them from accessing justice. “We are helping people themselves - and women themselves - with their legal rights.”

Access to Justice in Egypt

Made possible with support from the Swedish International Development Agency, and in partnership with the Egyptian ministeries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, the Legal Aid Project in Egypt is just one of 55 similar initiatives UNDP supports in countries around the world. Read more about UNDP and access to justice and rule of law here.

Access to Justice in Egypt

Write your story here. (Optional)

Footnotes

photos and story: Dylan Lowthian/UNDP www.undp.org

FootNotes

photos and story: Dylan Lowthian/UNDP www.undp.org

© 2026 United Nations Development Programme

À la recherche d’un équilibre

Trois communautés côtières mexicaines œuvrent en faveur d’un tourisme durable et communautaire

Rutas hacia el equilibrio

Un recorrido por tres costas mexicanas que avanzan hacia un turismo sostenible y comunitario

On the road to balance

Tour three Mexican coastal communities working towards sustainable, community-based tourism

Tras casi tres años de guerra, el pueblo del Sudán sigue con la esperanza de reconstruir su vida

À bientôt 3 ans de guerre, le peuple soudanais a hâte de se reconstruire

As the war approaches the 3-year mark, Sudan's people can't wait to rebuild their lives

Story Told With

Start publishing stories like this

Loading, please hold on.