An Egyptian woman filed for divorce this week in the city of Giza, citing her husband’s reaction to recent power outages, local media reported Tuesday.
Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm said the woman was fed up with her husband’s refusal to leave their densely-populated home district, which has been hit by recurrent electricity cuts.
In the divorce filing, the woman reportedly cited unsuitable living conditions, saying the area was not only prone to outages, but has also become home to ex-convicts and unlicensed street hawkers.
When she insisted the family move house, her husband physically attacked her in front of her children, the paper said.
She also reportedly said her husband could in fact afford a new house. The family court based in Giza, near Cairo, has yet to rule on the divorce request.
Several districts in the Egyptian capital of Cairo have had daily power cuts lasting several hours, while further south in the governorates of Assuit, Sohag, al-Wadi al-Gadid, Minya, Fayoum, and Beni Suef, power cuts have been lasting entire days.
The government has blamed the power shortages on spiraling consumption rates and high temperatures.
Earlier this month, President Mohammed Mursi sought to calm Egyptians, saying, “I am sorry for the power cuts. I have the same problem at home and I promise it will be solved as soon as possible,” assuring that new generation plants will be launched later this year.
Still, power cuts have driven Egyptians across the country to stage a series of protests, some of which blocked railway lines and highways, while a number of hydro towers have reportedly been destroyed by looters seeking electricity.
