The Poor’s lawyer: All that you want to Know About Al-Ardahaljy

Written by : Sara Ashraf

On a wooden bench, sitting behind his table, villagers gathering around him as their savior, haven’t you known him, yet?

The matter was not as simple as now. If you are illiterate and incapable of reading or writing, and you want to submit a complaint to the officials, there is someone who will do this for you, who is Al-Ardahaljy.

Al-Ardahaljy: The public’s clerk, a man who used to provide his services in front of police stations and courts, to assist people in writing their complaints to submit them to the officials.

Who is Al-Ardahaljy?

He was a person whose job was to write the complaint, forming it so well that it suits the client’s case, in exchange for several pounds that you pay and take your complaint to submit to the officials.

What was he like?

He wore simple clothes, with additional sleeves over them. He was just a man bending his back over a wooden table, listening to his clients, wearing large eyeglasses. He wrote everything he heard from his clients without interference.

When did this profession appear?

The profession of Al-Ardahaljy flourished in the seventies of the last century. They sat in wooden booths next to the courts and their numbers increased.

Why and when did this profession disappear?

This profession began to fade away in the eighties, until it had completely disappeared, due to the decline of illiteracy and the spread of computers that facilitated the legal procedures. However, Al-Ardahaljy still exists in some remote Egyptian villages.

If you want to know more about Al-Ardahaljy, you can visit one of the Egyptian remote villages and enjoy meeting him, as well as enjoying the countryside vibes.