How this new divorce law further marginalizes Gaza's women
The Sharia court in Gaza has ruled that husbands can divorce their wives on grounds of abuse, which also relieves the men of having to pay the women support.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Higher Sharia Court Council in the Gaza Strip issued a decision Feb. 7 granting a husband the right to file for divorce if his wife subjects him to verbal or physical abuse. The ruling has angered the feminist community, because it gives the husband the opportunity to divorce his wife while denying her rights to which she would otherwise be entitled in a divorce.
Prior to the decision, applying for a divorce based on verbal or physical abuse had been limited to women. This was so simply because men can divorce without providing a reason or even filing suit in court. If a wife filed for divorce and proved abuse, she did so with certain rights guaranteed — such as retention of the “mahr” (money and possessions paid by the groom or his family to the bride at the time of marriage), the right to obtain “mu’akhar” (money and possessions the groom is legally responsible for providing the wife, but not necessarily at the time of marriage) and receipt of the value of their furniture — as agreed upon in the marriage contract.
