ABSTRACT
To explore the social and personal dimensions of separation and reconciliation, it is necessary to re-examine the different stages involved giving special emphasis to the part women play. Women establish close networks of practical and emotional support with female friends and neighbours, which consolidates their position at the core of the family and mitigates against their isolation. All families are Muslim and people describe themselves as pious and true to Islam, in contrast to the majority of city people who have been tainted by the decadent and modern, western mores and behaviour associated with the urban environment. The overall tone of these arguments fit many familiar ideas from cross-cultural studies of the general relationship between high bride-price and low divorce rates. In many respects the family is the core of Egyptian society, being the primary social unit which provides all essential personal, emotional and material support.
