Newspaper Al-Ayyam – “Divorce” .. From the wife’s legal right to an excuse to kill her

> Her husband’s abuse has one of his rights over her, according to her family. Fatima, in her thirties, did not find support in the face of her husband’s tyranny. She turned to her family, then the sheikh, then the sheikh of the police, without success.

Fatima Ali (pseudonym), 32, from Ibb Governorate, says: “He beat me severely, and I often slept bleeding from my mouth and other parts of my body.”

She explains: “My husband would come back late in the middle of the night, he smelled strange, he was nervous for no reason and suddenly he started hitting me and swearing at me.”

The beginning of the end

“I happened to watch a television program hosted by a doctor of psychology, and she was talking about domestic violence, and during the program, the idea of ​​divorce came to my mind, but I was afraid for my three children of homelessness, and I was afraid that my family would they won’t accept after the divorce, especially since I don’t work, after my husband disowned me.

Immediately after his arrival, his wife Fatima tried to express to him that she would like to divorce him if he did not stop abusing her, and this, he says, made him even more angry, and in response he committed sexual violence against her.

After the last incident, Fatima ran away at night, covered in blood and limping, to the family house in the opposite lane, and this time her family was shocked, as if she was the first woman who sought refuge with them, because she put.

Umm Fatima says: “We ignored the insult of our 6-year-old daughter, because we thought she might be wrong, and for fear of society’s view of our divorced daughter, and for fear of our grandchildren being homeless or suffering at the hands of strangers. ”

And he adds: “It was enough for me, like every mother in this area, to advise my daughter before returning her to her husband, even though as a woman I wanted to save her from the jaws of her husband, who did that. don’t stop insulting her.”

And Fatima’s aunt says: “Last time we found out that Fatima was about to commit suicide due to the intensity of the pain, and she made us all cry because of the excessive pain she suffered because of her husband, and because of our neglect, according to what she said.”

divorce trip

The family decided to put pressure on the husband to divorce Fatima, asking for the help of dignitaries and dignitaries, and all attempts were met with stubbornness and rejection. At that time, Fatima went to court with her father to file a divorce case.

Fatima’s younger brother, who stood by her in her experience with her husband, expected in advance that the court would rule in favor of his sister, given that they obtained medical reports stating that her husband had abused her, and that there were witnesses from neighbors and from her husband’s family about the injustice done to Fatima.

He added: “After 3 sessions, the judge made a decision to dismiss my sister’s husband. Fatima cried and collapsed in front of the judge after he pronounced the sentence. Together with my mother, I tried to support her and lift her up, and at that time we decided to show her to a psychiatrist in Sana’a to treat the psychological effects of that experience.”

The family came out of the court as a winner, and Fatima was at the door of a new life full of dignity, but not everyone expected what would happen.

After the court ruled in Fatima’s favor, her husband published her photos and incited society against her as a dishonorable woman.

Fatima was met with the anger of society on the one hand, and the disapproval of women on the other, without proof.

Fatima says: “I have heard insulting words that I never expected to be spoken one day, and many have stated that I do not respect any man I am in a relationship with.

In search of a safe life, Fatima moved from her village in Ibba to another city, where she decided to continue her college education and work to support her children. She stated that she would attend psychotherapy sessions to overcome her previous experience with marriage and divorce. .

Khula is a justification for killing a woman

After Fatima’s trip, another case in the same governorate became public. In early September 2021, a man killed his wife, who was with her brother, as they were leaving the judicial complex in Ibb town.

The crime happened as soon as the woman and her brother left the gate of the Judicial Complex, after attending a court hearing, to divorce the wife from her husband, while the perpetrator waited in front of the Legal Complex to commit his crime.

Psychologist Marwa Al-Awadi says: “The man is the most affected by khula’, given the social culture that resents men.”

He adds that Yemeni women generally do not resort to khula’ except after a long series of solutions, as they see it as the last solution to their suffering.

One of the husband’s friends said in an interview for “Gledalac” about the social view of khula’, that “a woman’s khula’ could be the reason and justification for her murder, because she killed her husband, so he will not be able to walk with dignity in front of men, because the mistreatment and rejection that will await him.” .

He added that one of the effects of khul’ is the loss of the woman’s right to maintain the waiting period and dowry, if none of them were among the conditions of khul’.

Lawyer Hani Al-Salahi indicated that the effects of khul’ and its consequences are numerous on several levels, and for this reason it was hated by members of Yemeni society.

Es-Salahi says: “The consequences of divorce are numerous, the first of which is the legal effect, which is the inadmissibility of the wife’s return to her husband, because it is a small irrevocable divorce if the husband has not divorced. her before two divorces, which is a major irrevocable divorce if he divorced her before, and among its consequences is that it is not allowed The husband can take her back of his own free will, unless she consents during the waiting period, and that is only in case of a minor irrevocable divorce.

While the Yemeni law considers the murder of the wife in this case a criminal offense that requires a severe punishment, as a case of murder with premeditation that does not expire, and this happened with the murderer of the wife in front of the palace gate.

legal view and view of human rights

Yemeni law allows a man to divorce his wife three times by taking an oath of divorce, according to Article 60 of the Personal Status Law no. 20 of 1992. As for a woman who wants to divorce her husband, she resorts to the courts within a limited period. cases, such as if her husband fails to support his family financially even though he has the means to spend, or abuses her in any form of violence.

If a woman wants to divorce her husband for other reasons, she can initiate a divorce case, where she is required to return her dowry and waive any claims for temporary financial support, as is the case in divorce cases other than divorce.

Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations, obliges the states parties to take appropriate measures to ensure the equality of men and women in the same rights and responsibilities during marriage and after its divorce.

The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women stated, in its latest report published on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the Internet, at the end of June 2022, that “State parties should cancel all procedural requests for payments to obtain a divorce that are not applies to all husbands and wives.”

Which means that it is the woman who is affected before, during and after the divorce, because as a wife she suffers in order to get a divorce decree, so she suffers financially by giving up her rights, after which she goes to a society that does not show mercy to her as a woman who rebellious against the customs that require her to remain under compulsion at the mercy and will of her husband deprived of many rights such as the right to a decent life, the right to divorce and the right to return with her desire during the waiting period. As for the divorce, he will give her give these rights and she will become the mistress of her affairs.

“The Viewer Net”