by Marwa Rakha, Global Voices, Egypt - Back in March 2008, Eman Hashim wrote a post questioning why do Muslim Egyptian women need a “wakeel” - a man who has to sign her off to her husband. Let me give you a bit more insight here: unlike Western cultures where the father gives away the bride as a jest of his approval and blessing, in Islam the marriage is “flawed” if the father, or the uncle if the father is deceased, has to speak on the bride's behalf through out all the paperwork and marriage procedures.