Regulation on the organization of shari'a courts issued in accordance with Law Decree no. 78 of 1931

Article 5 of this regulation gave the shari'a primary courts final jurisdiction over marital and child maintenance claims, under a certain amount (not more than a few pounds), allowing the wife and the husband to take his/her case regarding maintenance of the wife and children to the Court of Cassation when the claim exceeded the limits.

In the following decades, social and economic development paved the way towards a more progressive view of marital relations, and led to a series of amendments, which were introduced to the law gradually and cautiously. In some cases these amendments were introduced to alleviate an element of bias against women within the law. For example, a ministerial decision issued in 1967 provided that a wife who was held to be disobedient stood to forfeit her right to main­tenance, ending the forcible implementation of awards of obedience (requiring wives to return to the matrimonial home) provided for in Article 345 of Law Decree no. 78/1931.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Arab world witnessed relative progress in the understanding and interpretation of shari'a and an effort to reconcile it with the needs of the time. These new approaches were also a reflection of the increasing calls for equality and gender liberation. In Egypt, the July Revolution of 1952 tried to change fundamentally the role of women through the introduction of legislation dealing with women’s political, social and economic rights and responsibilities. By way of example, the 1956 Constitution granted women the right to vote, and equal pay and conditions for equal work. The government policy of free education also had a positive impact, as it granted equal opportunities to female Egyptians on a level with men at all stages of education. However, these rights remained restricted and incomplete so long as the law governing family relations remained as it was; it was not surprising that women could not benefit fully from the laws affirming their equality with men while they remained oppressed inside the family. The promulgation of legislation is thus not an indicator of the mobilization of positive participation by women or a comparator for their actual emancipation. Women continued to suffer from harsh traditions represented in the domination of the family and of the man, in retrogressive traditions and beliefs, and in low cultural, economic and political awareness among the majority of women.