By Caroline Hawley in Cairo

Parliament in Egypt has passed controversial changes to divorce laws to make it easier for women to leave their husbands.

But it dropped a proposed clause that would have taken away the man's right to stop his wife travelling abroad without his permission.

So in the end it was a compromise on what has been one of the most controversial social issues in Egypt for years.

Until now, a man could divorce at will, while a woman could do so only if she could prove she had been ill-treated.

Now, for the first time, women will be able to start a divorce on grounds of incompatibility as long as they forego alimony payments and repay the dowry their husbands gave them.

The clause taking away the man's right to prevent his wife leaving the country was dropped.

Instead, parliament decided that a woman should be able to obtain a quick court ruling if her husband abused the right.

The case, however, would always be heard by a man since there are no women judges in Egypt.

Although few Egyptian women can afford to travel abroad, the clause was of enormous symbolic importance.

Many men argued it was un-Islamic because it took away a man's supremacy within the family.

They are also deeply uneasy about allowing women to start a divorce.

For women the new bill is a step forward but a much smaller one than activists wanted.