{"id":15001,"date":"2026-02-07T18:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T16:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=15001"},"modified":"2026-02-07T18:05:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T16:05:01","slug":"pensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/pensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pensions Stripped Under the Law: Children with Disabilities as Victims of Guardianship in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Radwa El-Shahat, 32, was stunned when her husband divorced her in 2011, just one week after the birth of their only child (A.T.), who was born with Down syndrome. Although medical tests conducted at the National Research Centre confirmed that neither parent carried genetic diseases, the father could not bear confronting society with his child\u2019s disability and abandoned them both.<\/p>\n

From that point on, Radwa devoted her life to caring for her son. She moved to Alexandria so he could enroll in a modern intellectual education school, relied on alimony for divorced women, and gave private lessons to children while her son was at school. She later obtained the Integrated Services Card for persons with disabilities and became a beneficiary of the Takaful and Karama cash transfer program, which was supposed to amount to 850 Egyptian pounds ($18.03) per month as of April 2025.<\/p>\n

The major shock came in April 2025, when she discovered that her son\u2019s Karama pension had been suspended, at the same time as her own personal pension was cut off, following the issuance of the Social Insurance Law No. 12 of 2025. Upon inquiry, it emerged that the father \u2014 who had abandoned his son 14 years earlier \u2014 had exploited his legal guardianship to obtain a disability-designated car registered in the child\u2019s name, which automatically led to the cancellation of the child\u2019s pension entitlement.<\/p>\n

Radwa says: \u201cI learned from the social affairs office that obtaining the car cancels the child\u2019s Karama pension and the mother\u2019s Takaful pension. At the traffic authority, they told me that the father\u2019s documents were legally valid and that the presence of the child with a disability is not required as long as he has a legal guardian. The child\u2019s presence is only required once he reaches the age of 21.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A security inquiry issued by the Helwan Traffic Department indicates that Taha Abdel Hakim, the father of the child (A.T.), obtained a disability-designated vehicle in his name.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u0628\u0637\u0627\u0642\u0629
\u0628\u0637\u0627\u0642\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u062f\u0645\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062a\u0643\u0627\u0645\u0644\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0627\u0635\u0629 \u0628\u0627\u0644\u0637\u0641\u0644 (\u0639. \u0637)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mother accuses the child\u2019s father of exploiting the vehicle for work with ride-hailing companies, while the child derives no benefit from it. Meanwhile, financial guardianship remains in the father\u2019s hands, despite the fact that he pays his son\u2019s court-ordered alimony of 1,500 pounds ($31.82) per month only under compulsory enforcement every six months, effectively stripping the child of all his rights.<\/p>\n

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The Legal Framework and the Impasse<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Under Law No. 119 of 1952, the father is deemed the natural guardian and legal trustee over his children\u2019s assets until they reach the age of legal majority. He has the right to manage and dispose of their property, subject to the provisions set out in the law. This is where the problem lies. Despite Radwa obtaining a court ruling granting her custody in Case No. 141 of 2023, as well as a decision assigning her educational guardianship from the Agami Educational Administration in Alexandria, the father remains the legal financial guardian under the law.<\/p>\n

On April 16, 2025, Radwa filed Administrative Report No. 2605 of 2025 at Al-Ma\u2019sara Police Station against her ex-husband, but the report was dismissed. On the same day, she also submitted a formal complaint to the Ministry of Social Solidarity through the Unified Complaints System, registered under No. 9739924. Five days later, she received a response stating that the complaint had been referred to the competent authority, without any tangible outcome.<\/p>\n

She went to the ministry\u2019s headquarters in April in an attempt to suspend the Integrated Services Card, but employees refused on the grounds that she is not the legal guardian. She also approached the Family Prosecution, the judicial body responsible for minors\u2019 affairs, but officials asked her to prove that she had paid the cost of the vehicle, which had never occurred in the first place.<\/p>\n

Women in Egypt\u2019s Prisons: Bodies Without Rights<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n