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Radwa Elshahat, a 32 year old woman, was shocked when her husband divorced her a week after she had given birth to their only child (A.T.), who was born with Down syndrome. The father could not bear to face society with a disabled child, even though tests done at the National Research Center confirmed that neither parent had any genetic disorders. Ultimately,he abandoned both mother and child.
Since then, Radwa has devoted her life to caring for her son.She moved to Alexandria so he could go to a school with modern educational methods. She relied on her divorce pension, and gave private lessons to children while her son was at school. She subsequently obtained an integrated services card for people with disabilities and received a Takaful and Karama pension. This should have been giving her 850 Egyptian pounds (EGP) - ($18) - a month in April 2025.
But on the fifteenth of that month came a big shock when Radwan found out that her son's Karama pension, along with her own pension, had been stopped, under the new Social Security Law No. 12 of 2025. When she looked into why this had happened, it turned out that the father - who had abandoned his son 14 years ago - had taken advantage of his legal guardianship to obtain his own son's mobility-adapted vehicle. This automatically cancelled the son’s pension entitlement.
Radwa says, “I found out from the social services that if they get hold of the car, that stops the child’s Karama and the mother's Takaful pensions. The traffic people told me the father's papers were all in order and that there was no requirement for my disabled child to be there as long as he had a legal guardian. The boy would only have to be present if he’d reached 21.”
Radwan accuses her child’s father of using the vehicle to work for ride-sharing companies, while the boy derives no benefit from it whatsoever. Although the father retains financial guardianship, he pays his son’s monthly allowance of 1,500 pounds only once every six months—and then only under pressure. As a result, the child has effectively been deprived of his full rights.
The Legal Framework and the Impasse
Under Law No. 119 of 1952, the father is considered the natural guardian and trustee of his children's assets until they reach adulthood. He has the right to manage and dispose of these assets, subject to the provisions of this law. This is the crux of the problem. Even though the court awarded Radwa custody - in case 141 of 2023 - and she was given educational guardianship by the educational administration in Agamy, Alexandria, the father remains the boy’s financial guardian by law.
On April 16, 2025, Radwa filed a statement at the El-Maasara police station accusing her ex-husband (case no. 2605 of 2025). The statement was placed on file without further action. That same day, she submitted an official complaint (no. 9739924) to the Ministry of Social Solidarity through the government’s unified complaints system. Five days later, she received a response stating that the complaint had been referred to the relevant authorities, without providing any information on the outcome.
She went to the main ministry building on April 21 to try to cancel the integrated services card. But staff there refused her request, as she was not the legal guardian. She also went to the public prosecutor responsible for handling cases involving minors. But when they asked her to prove she had paid for the car, she was unable to do so.
A Recurring Phenomenon
Radwa said that other mothers facing similar situations had contacted her. She explained that their husbands had sold the registration documents for their children’s accessible vehicles without the mothers’ knowledge, effectively depriving the children of their pensions. Most of these women were too afraid of provoking marital conflict to file formal complaints. However, according to Radwa, a woman working in the traffic department told her that such cases are common.
After six months of pursuing the case, the issue remains unresolved. Worse still, Radwa discovered that three different integrated services cards had been issued in her son’s name. All of them are valid: one until the end of 2025 and another until 2027. The father was able to obtain these cards without requiring the child to undergo a new medical examination and used one of them to acquire the vehicle. He was unable to take possession of the remaining cards because he lacked the necessary supporting documents.
Radwa lodged a new complaint with the Central Administration for Persons with Disabilities (CAPD) at the Ministry of Social Solidarity. And in November 2025, she made a statement (no. 113727) to the 16000 child helpline in a final attempt to restore her son's rights.
Video of Radwa Elshahat Ahmed, in which she appeals to the President of the Republic
Radwa Elshahat is not alone in facing this predicament. An earlier case involves Zahra Hussein and her seven-year-old son (Kh. A.), who is on the autism spectrum. After three years of legal proceedings, Zahra obtained a divorce on the grounds of domestic violence. The court awarded her EGP 1,600 (about $34) in alimony and just EGP 50 (around $1) in child support, an amount far below what is required to meet the needs of a child with disabilities, including nappies and rehabilitation sessions.
Although Zahra’s ex-husband works in a bank and, according to her, earns a “large” salary and owns property, he took advantage of his legal guardianship to obtain a disabled person’s car in the name of Kh.A. This led to the automatic cancellation of Zahra’s Karama pension.
Zahra explains that her son’s car was registered by the Qalyubia Traffic Department and that she has all the documents for the vehicle as well as the license number. She also has a copy of a traffic violation ticket, with the car’s details, issued in Alexandria, even though the boy had never left Qalyubia governorate. Zahra sees this as evidence that the father had used the car without authorization. She explains how the father usurped completely her son's rights: “My son can’t use his car. His dad’s got the integrated services card and he’s the only one who gets to use the car. It’s all very damaging both psychologically and financially, because he’s using it for his own personal interests.”
Futile Attempts
Zahra went to social services and to the traffic department, but the response was the same: the father is the legal guardian and the paperwork is in order. She was advised to apply for a replacement integrated services card, though that would not restore her pension.
She went ahead and reported the card was lost, and obtained a replacement card on July 23, 2025. But the father kept hold of the original card and continues to use it illegally. In November 2025, she reported the father's usurping of her son's rights via the 16000 Hotline – case no. 114205.
With the current legal framework, the integrated services card has turned from being a way of supporting children with disabilities into a tool whereby some fathers can obtain customs-exempt cars in their children's names, abusing their legal guardianship over their children's assets so that nothing goes to the children themselves. As soon as the car is released, the child is automatically deprived of their Karama pension and related services, while the father uses the vehicle for his own personal or commercial purposes.
The Broader Context
According to official statistics from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics in December 2023, people with disabilities make up 11 percent of the population. The Ministry of Solidarity provides monthly pensions under the Takaful and Karama program. But to be eligible for this, applicants must not own a car and must not be in receipt of a social insurance pension or have previously received a social solidarity pension. They must also not be over 18.
The numbers of families on the Takaful and Karama financial support program increased in 2025 to 4.7 million, compared to 1.7 million in 2015 – a total of 8.1 million families since its launch in 2015, according to cabinet figures. Loopholes in the system, however, mean children are being deprived of their rights by fathers exploiting their legal guardianship.
The integrated services card for people with disabilities in Egypt provides them with educational benefits, such as access to schools and universities, with exemption from tuition fees, and health benefits that include free hospital tests. Having the card makes it possible to combine two pensions. And other economic benefits include discounts on transport, exemption from customs duties on specially fitted cars and on prosthetic devices. The card also helps open up employment opportunities, as the state reserves five per cent of jobs to “persons with disabilities”.
The Father Is the Natural Guardian under the Law
Ahmed Meselhi, a lawyer and head of the Child Defence Network, confirms that the father is the child’s natural guardian under both Sharia and Egyptian law. And this guardianship ceases only when the father dies, or if a court rules that it should be revoked because the father has, for instance, harmed his children's financial rights by exploiting them, or has lost legal capacity due to insanity or debauchery. When that happens, the public prosecutor's office is responsible for appointing a replacement guardian, who will act under its supervision.
Meselhi points out that disabled children have the same rights as their able-bodied peers, though they need more protection. And he notes that an article from the Penal Code has been added to the Child Law to cover the crime of economic exploitation of children. Article 291 of the Penal Code stipulates a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment, to be doubled if the perpetrator is one of the child's guardians.
An Outdated Law that Does not Reflect Reality
Lawyer Malek Adly, director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, explains that the guardian – usually the father - has “natural authority” over the child under Egyptian and Sharia law. The guardian is appointed by the court to manage the minor's finances, while the custodian, normally the mother, is responsible for providing the child's physical and emotional care, but without any authority over the child's finances.
Adly thinks the current law on financial guardianship is not in line with what is really happening in society, since it does not include sufficient or flexible grounds for revoking the father's guardianship, except in very specific cases, such as if the father is legally or mentally incompetent or incapacitated. The law does not deal with cases when parents intentionally harm children or exploit them financially. Nor does it allow the mother who has custody of the child to have financial guardianship while the father is alive, offering her guardianship only through complex procedures that most mothers find too difficult to negotiate.
Adly believes that when fathers exploit their disabled children by misusing their vehicles, this constitutes financial and economic abuse, which requires legislative intervention. He cites “educational guardianship” as an example of types of guardianship that can be withdrawn without compromising the principle of natural guardianship.
The Position of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities
Dr. Iman Karim, general supervisor of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, explains that the integrated services card is subject to clear legal controls. The services it provides – a specially equipped car or a special pension - are intended for the child, though under law are administered by the legal guardian. And guardianship of the child remains with the father unless a court order is issued to transfer it, even if the mother is the actual custodian.
According to Article 20 of Law No. 119 of 1952, “if the minor's funds are at risk due to the guardian's misconduct or for any other reason, the court may revoke or limit his guardianship.” On the basis of this, Dr Iman advises mothers affected to make a complaint against the father with the customs authority, and then appeal to the ministry to restore the pension once the state has recouped what it is owed.
The Guardian Is the One Who Uses the Service Card
In Egypt, 1.2 million people with disabilities benefit from the Karama cash support program, at a cost of EGP 10.2 billion ($25.5m) per year. There have been 1.3 million integrated service cards issued to people with disabilities, and 200 cards are currently being either reviewed or printed. The Ministry of Social Solidarity issued a statement on June 30, 2024 saying 600,000 disabled citizens had received care, rehabilitation and prosthetic services in 163 institutions and 86 rehabilitation and physiotherapy centers, at an estimated cost of EGP 550 million ($11.7m).
Ahmed Hanafi, a child protection consultant, believes that the various laws are clear and fair. He does not think that the guardianship law needs to be changed but simply applied properly and its measures implemented. The basic problems, however, lie in the mechanisms the relevant authorities use to implement the law. The Ministry of Social Solidarity databases, for instance, are not automatically updated when there is a divorce or transfer of custody.
Hanafi emphasizes that if some fathers take away the cars of disabled children, or have a replacement integrated services card issued without the knowledge of the child’s custodian, that is illegal. And the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood can intervene to resolve such disputes through the legal unit of the Child Helpline (16000), provided the custodian herself files an official report, enabling the council to undertake legal procedures to restore the child’s rights.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity Response
Khalil Mohamed Khalil, head of the Central Administration for Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Social Solidarity, says that the administration monitors cases of abuse through a complaints system and follow-ups on the ground, and that it takes the necessary measures in coordination with the relevant authorities. But he points out that it is the judicial authorities who are responsible for deciding disputes, and the administration’s role is merely to carry out such official rulings.
He points out that the Central Administration for Persons with Disabilities has an integrated electronic system which records data on all those applying for and using the integrated services card. The system uses detailed data taken from the basic information form, which the applicant fills out before undergoing a functional assessment. This produces accurate statistics, taking into account several variables.
A Vicious Circle
Despite the billions of pounds spent each year on supporting people with disabilities, children like A.T. and Kh.A. are still deprived of the support they are entitled to. This is because the law leaves mothers, who have custody of these children, with two options: either lose access to support or resort to a lengthy legal process, which requires financial resources they do not have.
Until lawmakers recognize the need for legislative reform that will give the actual caregivers the right to manage the affairs of disabled children, mothers like Radwa and Zahra will remain stranded in court process, while their children are deprived of their rights, even though they are the most vulnerable and needy group in society.
* All images used were generated using AI
