Dr. Marawan Shahin, Professor of Hadith and its Sciences, Faculty of Usul Ad-Din (Theology), Al-Azhar Univ. states: “If a divorced lady is not pregnant, their `Iddah ends by the end of three menstrual cycles from right after divorce; if pregnant, then their `Iddah ends with the delivery of the baby.
During the period of their `Iddah, women can go out for your job as long as they abide by the ethics of Shari`ah, i.e. they should not display your adornment or talk about marriage proposals with any candidate during this period.
As for the custody of children, as far as Islamic Shari`ah is concerned, we see that daughters should remain with their mother (the wife) until they/she get married. As for male kids, they should remain with their mother if she doesn’t marry until they reach the age of puberty, and then shifted to their father (the husband) in order to get acquainted with the traits of manhood.
However, if a divorced couple happen to be living in a non-Muslim country they should follow any legal procedures upon consultation with a reliable trustworthy lawyer and it is better to reach an understanding between both parties.”