Featured Article

The Hard Way Out: Divorce by Khula

By Suad Hamada |

by Suad Hamada
- Bahrain -


hamada_courts.jpg
• Faced with an agonizingly long and often unproductive legal fight, some women seek divorce by Khula at Bahrain's Ministry of Justice building, effectively giving up their rights. Photograph by Biju Haridas. •
Fadhila is only allowed to go to the toilet after asking permission from her husband, she also puts up with his frequent demands for sex - even when she’s menstruating – but neither is a valid enough reason to be granted divorce by Bahrain’s Shariah Court. So Fadhila’s only option is to seek Khula, or divorce without reason, from the judge. She may be granted her freedom, but there is always a price. Women who are awarded Khula are required to either financially compensate their husbands or give away their marriage settlements, including custody rights to their children. “There is no way out,” 23-year-old Fadhila tells me. “I have to end this marriage that took five years of my life, even [if it means] paying double the dowry.”

Fadhila’s case against her teen sweetheart was dismissed in court because according to the judge, meeting the sexual demands of her husband is a religious obligation. The judge also wasn’t convinced of his controlling nature. Her husband testified his jealousy kept him from giving Fadhila more freedom. His brothers, he explained, live with them at the family house and he just isn’t comfortable letting Fadhila use the toilet when they are around.

...

Tags:
FULL ARTICLE | Add a comment| more from The World | Email this entry

THE WIP CONTRIBUTORS

Kashmir’s Economy Feels the Effects of Climate Change

Nusrat Ara
by Nusrat Ara - Indian-administered Kashmir - After the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) admitted to a major...
(2) Comments | more from Economy | more from The World | Email this entry

Mine: The Pets That Hurricane Katrina Left Behind

Jessica Mosby
by Jessica Mosby - USA - The most emotionally and politically-charged documentary of the year is about a surprisingly original...
(2) Comments | more from Arts & Culture | Email this entry

A Brave New World: Women as Architects of Peace

Katharine Daniels
by Katharine Daniels Executive Editor & Founder, The WIP This past weekend I was invited to keynote the Global Women’s...
(4) Comments | more from The WIP Editorial | more from The World | Email this entry

TEKEL Workers Stage Turkey’s Largest Protest in 30 Years

Emel Baştürk Akca
by Emel Baştürk Akca - Turkey - Once one of Turkey’s biggest public producers of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products,...
(1) Comments | more from Economy | Email this entry

Violence Breeds Violence: “Afghanistan without bombs and burqas”

Wazhmah Osman
by Wazhmah Osman - Afghanistan/USA - Today Afghanistan finds itself in a state of collapse and at the center of...
(1) Comments | more from Politics | Email this entry
ad_miis0809.gif

Dancing The Divide: Interview with Pakistani Peacemaker Sheema Kermani

Aditi Bhaduri
by Aditi Bhaduri - India - With her large flashing eyes rimmed with kohl and flowing hair, she is the...
Add a comment | more from The World | Email this entry

Jeopardizing Children’s Health: Indian Markets Overrun with Toxic Toys

Lesley D. Biswas
by Lesley D. Biswas - India - The annual Bidhannagar Fair at Kolkata’s Central Park is a swarm of enthusiastic...
Add a comment | more from Science | Email this entry

“Deeply Divided”: Sri Lanka through the Eyes of Adele Barker

Mandy Van Deven
by Mandy Van Deven - India - During the year she taught Russian literature at the University of Peradeniya in...
(1) Comments | more from Politics | Email this entry

Veteran Suicides: The Toll of Service and Search for Answers

Melissa Hahn
by Melissa Hahn - USA - “The one thing you can never ask yourself is ‘why’, because with suicide there...
Add a comment | more from The World | Email this entry

If There is Something to Desire:
Interview with Russian Poet Vera Pavlova

Anna Clark
by Anna Clark - USA - Why is the word yes so brief? It should be the longest, the hardest,...
Add a comment | more from Arts & Culture | Email this entry

U.S. Stimulus Plan to Boost Geothermal Energy Prospects

Kimberly N. Chase
by Kimberly N. Chase - USA - In an unmarked meadow by the side of the road at The Geysers,...
(2) Comments | more from Economy | more from Science | more from Technology | Email this entry

2010 Sundance Film Festival: A Cinematic Rebellion

Jessica Mosby
by Jessica Mosby - USA - Rebel was the theme of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The message was everywhere:...
(1) Comments | more from Arts & Culture | Email this entry

India Sets Its Sights on Higher Education

Priyanka Bhardwaj
by Priyanka Bhardwaj - India - Education remains an emotional subject in a poor and developing country like India, where...
(2) Comments | more from Education | Email this entry

California’s Prison Spending Grows While the State Budget Shrinks

Rachel Meyer
by Rachel Meyer - USA - As I sit and write this, a young man sits in County Jail awaiting...
(6) Comments | more from Economy | Email this entry

Afghanistan: Vultures in the “Graveyard of Empires”

Wazhmah Osman
by Wazhmah Osman - Afghanistan - While reports of systemic corruption and fraud are just beginning to surface in the...
Add a comment | more from The World | Email this entry
More Contributor Stories »
ad_donate2.jpg

BYLINE PORTAL

Moment of Truth for Europe's Common Currency

by Anne Seith, Spiegel, Germany - Greece's financial difficulties have exposed numerous weaknesses which threaten Europe's common currency. Now, policy makers and economic experts are...
Add a comment | more from Magazines

Casualties of the Post-War Era

by Anna Badkhen, The National, UAE - In spite of the republic’s meteoric reconstruction, kidnappings and extra-judicial killings still ravage Chechnya....
Add a comment | more from Newspapers

Reproductive Rights, Parental Rights, and Family Violence: A Dangerous Intersection

by Joan Dawson, RH Reality Check, USA - When do reproductive rights end? Do they end at birth? Do they continue throughout a child’s life?...
Add a comment | more from Blogs

Desperate Mid-Eastern Mediators

by Maria Appakova, RIA Novosti, Russia - Does it make sense for the Quartet to meet at all? Even the United States was given a...
Add a comment | more from News Agency

China Lets its Cash Speak in the Balkans

by Tamsin Walker, Deutsche Welle, Germany - As Brussels painstakingly deliberates the merits of aspiring European Union members in the Balkans, Beijing has begun an...
Add a comment | more from News Agency
More Female Bylines »

CURRENT HEADLINES

Nepal's Maoists say Koirala's death a blow to peace

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Former Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, a leading figure in Nepal's transition from monarchy to republic, died on Saturday in what...
Add a comment | more from worldNews

Thousands rally against Putin, dozens detained

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police broke up an opposition demonstration in Moscow on Saturday, one of around 50 rallies across the country with thousands protesting...
Add a comment | more from worldNews

Opposition "red shirts" try to win over Thai capital

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of opposition activists paraded through Thailand's sprawling capital on Saturday to try to win over Bangkok's middle classes to...
Add a comment | more from worldNews

Life under Hamas

(BBC) Women describe conditions in the Gaza Strip...
Add a comment | more from Middle East

Gold rush

(BBC) The oceanic fight over the future of prized bluefin tuna...
Add a comment | more from Europe

UK anti-militant project stirs Muslim unease

LONDON (Reuters) - A British anti-radicalization campaign called Prevent is a pressing priority in the European country experts see as the most at risk from...
Add a comment | more from worldNews
More Headlines »
ad_jennifersjourney.jpg

RECENT TALK

Violence Against Women: A Hidden Pandemic

There is not a single factor that accounts for violence against women, but several social and cultural factors have kept women particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon. What they have in common, however, is that they are manifestations of historically unequal...
Add a comment

Whiteboard Report: A Matter of Integrity

"Standards are important." I can't tell you how many times a week I hear these words. We have to have Standards, otherwise what will anyone be learning? How can we guarantee that all children learn, if all teachers are not...
Add a comment

President Obama Should Act Fast on Cuba

Several years ago, during my first visit to Cuba to attend a health-related meeting I was witness to an unusual event. As friends and I walked into the Bodeguita del Medio, a traditional restaurant famous because of the number of...
Add a comment

My voice will not reside in my chest… It's a cry that will reach the furthest of the world

We were returning from university talking with my friends about International Women's Day in last year and in years before, we wondered what should we do this year. On our way before we reach Vali-e-Asr intersection we saw a young...
(2) Comments

Violence against Women: A Hidden Pandemic

That violence against women is considered accepted behavior in many countries does not diminish its seriousness or its negative impact on the physical and mental health of women worldwide. Its persistence throughout the world — despite other obvious social measures...
Add a comment
More Talk »

RECENT COMMENTS

Kashmir’s Economy Feels the Effects of Climate Change
lesley said: Its true the impact of climate change is being felt irrespective of IPCC's mistake. The article is a...
(2) comments | more from Economy , | more from The World
A Brave New World: Women as Architects of Peace
sarakarl said: Thank you Kate!...
(4) comments | more from The WIP Editorial , | more from The World
After Feminism: What Are Girls Supposed To Do?
Elisa said: A very misleading title, but nonetheless a good article making the important point-"Girls' problems ...
(1) comments | more from Newspapers
Mine: The Pets That Hurricane Katrina Left Behind
PatriotPaul said: I too would have trouble watching this from an emotional standpoint. I was a Calif. tourist stuck i...
(2) comments | more from Arts & Culture
Birth defects 'rise' in Falluja
Maya M said: Comparing the congenital heart defects incidence in Falluja to that in Europe, rather than to that i...
(2) comments | more from Middle East

THE WIP IN THE NEWS

The WIP Featured on Movable Type

Six Apart interviews Kate and features The WIP on The Movable Type Blog.

Conversations with Riane Eisler

Founder Kate Daniels joins Dr. Riane Eisler on Women's Radio for a conversation about world politics, human rights, and global news.

Iraqi author and activist Haifa Zangana visits The WIP

and is interviewed by the Monterey County Weekly.

Women's Wear Daily contacts The WIP

for comment on women candidates and style. Referencing Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi, Louise Belfrage calls the modern obsession with female politicians' clothes absurd. "In India, do you think they talked about Indira Gandhi's clothes?"

The WIP Joins America Back on Track

to discuss the latest news about Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program at the Smithsonian Institute's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Esfandiari was recently released after being held at Tehran's Evin prison for months.