Hello ioanab,
Divorces are always difficult and stressful processes, much more still when you are trying to divorce in a foreign country where you don't understand the language well, or know the applicable family law.
Compound your difficulty by the fact that you are seeking custody of a minor child and the fact that you are a foreign national and your husband is not. Look at it like this.... you're the "visiting team" playing football in his "home stadium". You'll be playing by his country's rules and not your own. The "home team" always has the advantage!!!
Regardless of what it will cost you to retain a lawyer to represent you in this matter, you must do just that. The risk of not doing so is simply too great. You risk losing the custody of your child. Isn't that worth more than any possible legal fees you may eventually have to pay???
You should check to see if there is some kind of free or inexpensive legal services available in Egypt for women. Many countries do offer this.
Regarding taking your child out of Egypt. Even if you were to obtain sole custody of your child, a custody order is NEVER final. Proposing to remove a minor child from his/her country of residence, and residence of the other parent constitutes clear grounds to reopen the issue of custody in the courts.
If you cannot obtain the consent of the child's father for such a move then he certainly may seek a change of the custody order on the grounds that such a move would deprive him of normal and frequent visitation with his child. In most cases courts will seriously consider such applications and where no mutually acceptable arrangements seem possible they will indeed give custody over to the other parent making the application, rather than to permit a move that would jeopardize access and visitation.
Your situation is far too complex and the consequences, should you go wrong, too great for you to try to handle these issues on your own without competent legal representation. They are also too urgent for you to be relying on legal advice coming from public forums such as this, which would come mostly from laypersons, with little or no real understanding of the law. You shouldn't be seeking advice here, you need to talk to an experienced and highly qualified local lawyer.
Regards,
James
Expat-blog Experts Team