To becreative - Orfi marriage

Submitted by Isis (Australia), May 14, 2009 at 20:42

Becreative there would have been a section on the Orfi Paper that would list the amount of the dowry and it's usually 50LE but this is rarely exchanged. It also mentions how you met, if either of you are already married, your passport number, your date of birth and occupation. Get a photocopy of the paper and have it translated in your own country.

Under Orfi if you divorce and this can be done by one partner informing the other other that they no longer wish to continue with the relationship, the paper can be destroyed. If you end the relationship, the paper states that you are supposed the give back the dowry that you never received. There are moves afoot in Egypt for changes to the Orfi paper in regards to property and child custody rights for women but I am sure that the well known confusing Egyptian bureauracy will find some way to slow this change down. The Orfi paper is designed to satisfy the Islamic clerics because the Quran states that there cannot be sex outside of marriage and this is why Egyptian couples marry so quickly with short engagements. The Orfi paper also gives young Egyptian couples especially in Cairo, the opportunity to have a sexual relationship outside of marriage with only minor Islamic backlash.

The Orfi paper can also be registered in the Egyptian courts to give it more of a binding contract if you wish. However, outside of Egypt the Orfi paper is not recognised as a legal marriage certificate. The only legal marrige recognised out of Egypt between a foreign woman and an Egyptian man is the signing of a marriage certificate at the Ministry of Justice in Cairo. This is a long, confusing and belittling process for a western woman and is why this option is not usually taken up by foreigners. If you want to know more about this option, please let me know.

As for legal marriages of other countries - British citizens are able to marry at their consulate in Cairo but the Australian Embassy does not perform marriages at any of its consulates. I'm not sure about the protocol of the American Embassy in Cairo, but I do believe that they make it difficult for an Egyptian man and an American woman to marry and discourage it.

So in reality, the Orfi paper is a contract between the parties and is showing that you are giving your man permission to be with you in a relationship given that you are a foreign woman. It is illegal under Egyptian Islamic law for a foreign woman to be alone anywhere with an Egyptian man in Egypt. Correctly licensed and certified tour guides or leaders are permitted to accompany foreign women in the streets without being hassled by the police but if you are in a reltionship with an Egyptian man you will need some form of accepted "marriage" papers to avoid attention at some stage.

I hope this helps you understand the Orfi a little better.

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