How can an adult woman marry to protect herself if marrying herself without her family's knowledge is invalid, given the family's exorbitant demands for marriage, while the Maliki school, which is practiced in Egypt, permits an adult woman to marry herself?

The Sharia (definition) judge presides over marriage cases. The majority of scholars hold that a woman's marriage without a guardian (wali) is invalid, citing the hadith (definition) of Aisha: "Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardians, her marriage is invalid (three times)." Although the exaggeration of families in marriage demands is regrettable, it does not justify a woman marrying without a guardian. Islamic law allows the guardianship to transfer to a more distant guardian or to the judge if the closest guardian prevents her from marrying a suitable match.