Women’s rights in Islam

Chapter 1:
Divorce





Islam concerns marriage and hates divorce. There are some verses and narrations which encourage Muslim to marry. If we study about marriage and its role in the society we find out why Islam has too much attention to it. In the societies that concern and think about family the rate of crime and offence is low. But the situation in the societies that do not think about family is vice versa.
Islam gives the right of divorce to men. One may ask why Islam has basically given this right to men. Why it is just men who have right to divorce and women can not divorce themselves. So in every situation even in hardest one women have to stay and obey their husbands. It is evil and injustice. If a woman wants to depart her husband, she has to make him satisfy of divorcing by giving him money or munificence her marriage-portion. Is it better this right was given to both of them equally? Thus divorce or generally the women’s right is a controversial discussion we are going to clear Islam’s opinion about divorce.
First of all I should say Islam is following an important purpose by giving the right of divorce to men. The purpose is maintaining the foundation of family. It is clear men and women are naturally different. Generally a man can tolerate bad situations and even in hardest conditions he protects his family and really wants to have it. On the other word man is created for difficulties. Also woman is created for another purpose so they complete each other. Woman has a very important role in the family and society and it is raising children. She was given a powerful sense. She can tolerate the difficulties of delivering babies and raising them. Women are very sensitive and if they have the right of divorce as equal as men they may apply divorce after a simple dispute or argument. Meanwhile men do not like to lose his wife easily. We can see in the countries which women and men are equal in this right, the rate of divorce is increasing. Of course there are some other reasons for divorce in those countries but we want to say that it may be important ones. In conclusion family which makes the next generation in every community is faced with a serious problem.
Secondly, although Islam has given this right to men, but there is also a solution for a woman to limit this right and take the right of divorce in her hand. She can make conditions in the time of marriage -that force both men and women to be responsible about them- and say to her husband if you treat me badly or if you do something for example taking another wife and etc, I will be able to divorce myself. Both Shia and Sunni are the same in this issue. It is called conditional contract.
Thirdly, in some especial cases the Islamic ruler can divorce a woman without her husband’s permission. For example if a man does not pay his wife’s expenses or make a worse condition for her or go away and nobody knows where he is. The Islamic governor divorces her.
And finally, the marriage-portion in case of divorce is another means to limit this right. If a man wants to divorce his wife he has to pay her marriage- portion. According to this a man can not divorce his wife haphazardly because he must pay much money.
In conclusion it is right that Islam gives the right of divorce to men because of some reasons we pointed them, but there are some means or solutions for women to limit it. So the rate of divorce in Islamic countries is very lower than those countries that give this right to both of them equally.

M.H. Akhlaqi