Kuwait conference calls for document on women rights
In yesterday’s Kuwait Times, there was a tiny paragraph in the reporting about Personal Law in Kuwait pertaining to women that stated
“Among the loopholes of that must be corrected is the provision empowering a woman’s father to marry her to whoever he likes or divorce her without consulting or even informing her . . . “
Is this possible? Does this still happen? I thought in Islam, a woman had to agree to accept a man as husband, and had a right to have clauses put into her marriage contract? And a father can have his daughter divorced from her husband without her even knowing about it, much less agreeing to it?
Here is today’s reporting from the Kuwait Times on the recommendations for legal changes:
KUWAIT: Participants in the Conference on the “Kuwaiti Women in National Legislations” have recommended the preparation of a comprehensive national document to facilitate women participation in the country’s development aspects under the sponsorship of the legislative and executive authorities as well as the civic society institutions.
At the conclusion of the one-day conference, organised by the National Assembly’s women affairs committee, the participants demanded improvement of legislative performance, promotion of the existing legislations and completion of the legal system in an introduction for the rise of women’s rights in the society.
To read the rest of the article, with the recommendations made by the committee, click on Kuwait Times, here.
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Off topic: I reeaaaallllly appreciate you coming back to me on that “bi sho’or” word. The other day i was checking out a book called “Talk to the Hand” by Lynne something, and on the back it was written, “It’s a perfect example of how boorish behavior has become ….” As soon as i saw that word i thanked you for teaching it to me. 🙂
On topic: “Does this still happen?” Yes it still happens, because what Islam teaches us and what really goes on are two completely different things.
You are absolutely right, in Islam you are not allowed to force a woman into marriage. Also, although divorce is allowed it is frowned upon in the religion. But that’s beside the point. I think that there’s a difference here between Shi’tes and Sunnis. My Shi’ite friends actually had to be there during the marriage ceremony and say out loud that they accept the man as their husband.
But with us Sunnis, and we are the majority in Kuwait, the woman doesn’t have to be there. Her father functions as her agent so to speak and he is supposed to fulfill her wishes. When fathers marry off their daughters or get them divorced without their knowledge or without their consent they are abusing the law and most certainly disobeying their religion. This would happen of course in dysfunctional families or in families where the father stands to get some personal gain out of marrying off his daughter without her consent. But just so you know, even though Kuwait is a small country I have never known anyone who has done this nor have I ever heard of someone someone else knows who’s done this. I just heard it happens. But I think, and hope, it’s a rare thing.
mmm as with most religious texts, there is room for interpretation, which means that in different cultures and at different moments Muslim marriage has been conducted differently.
The Qur’an does not say explicitly: fathers, feel free to marry and divorce your daughters without consulting them. But neither does it say: women themselves are the ones who choose whether, when, and who to marry, to conduct the marriage negotiations themselves and to sign their own names to the marriage contract. hence the wide space for culture to intervene …
“because what Islam teaches us and what really goes on are two completely different things.”
Magical – You know, the same thing happens in Christianity. Thank you for helping me “get” this.
As for “boorish” – and sociopath and psychopath – I love words. I can see that you do, too. It’s fun for me, and I might even learn something from you!
Zin / 1001 – I love your clear, cool explanations, and I always learn so much. It is looking more and more cultural, and less and less Islamic. I had no idea the marital customs varied from Shiite to Sunni . . . And it matters that although it is possible, you have never known anyone who was forced into a marriage they didn’t want. It’s like evidence. It may be apocraphyl, but it is a piece in a larger puzzle.
Little Diamond – I remember you lugging all those books on sura’s and hadith from Jarir, and I know you read them. So you and Zin are in agreement that this practice is probably as much cultural as religious?
And it wasn’t so long ago that our marriages were also arranged my families – a mere couple hundred years or so . .
[…] As an ironic tie-in to an earlier blog article today about Kuwaiti women seeking legislations on Women’s Rights, here is a related article from today’s Kuwait Times 23 April […]
It’s not just that. To have further proof that forced marriage is absolutely not sanctioned by Islam, I read a story about how the Prophet Mohamad (peace be upon him) ended a marriage when the wife complained to him that she was forced into it. Consent is an absolute must for the marriage to be valid.
BTW this does not necessarily negate the custom of arranged marriages because “arranged” usually does not mean “forced”. Most people it seems get married into very happy marriages that were arranged. That’s because usually people choose spouses for their kids from the same social, economic, and religious backgrounds. By doing so they create the right environment where the husband and wife have the same expectations since they come from the same family settings.
I am very glad to help dear. I love seeing things through your eyes too.