The 'Customary' and 'Religious' Right to Misconduct Against Women Has Been Legalized!

According to a report by the Kayhan newspaper dated July 30, 2002, the Expediency Discernment Council of the Islamic System reviewed and approved a proposal to add a clause to Article 1130 of the Civil Code regarding the instances of hardship for the wife. The Kayhan report states: "Based on the decisions made on Saturday by the Expediency Discernment Council, the following instances were approved as cases of hardship: 1- A definitive conviction of the husband to five years or more in prison [provided] that the wife requests a divorce. 2- The husband suffering from serious and incurable mental illnesses or any other serious ailment that disrupts the shared life. 3- Continuous beating or any form of misconduct by the husband that is not tolerable according to the wife's situation." In fact, the Expediency Discernment Council's resolution limits the cases in which the wife has the right to request a divorce to three instances: a long-term definitive conviction of the husband, the husband's serious illness, and the husband's continuous misconduct towards the wife. This note discusses the third case and the conditions under which a woman can request a divorce as approved by the leaders of the Islamic system. This article explicitly states that a woman has the right to request a divorce if she is subjected to beating and misconduct by the husband, provided that: 1- The misconduct and beating are 'continuous', 2- The misconduct and beating are 'not tolerable according to the wife's situation.' In other words, if a man occasionally beats his wife and does not do so continuously, that woman cannot request a divorce based on occasional beatings and misconduct from her husband! Since the term 'continuous' is neither defined nor its limits specified in the Expediency Discernment Council's resolution, one must refer to the dictionary to understand that the legislator intended the meaning of 'continuous' to imply 'always' and 'daily'. On the other hand, the beating and misconduct must be 'not tolerable' (and from now on, according to the Expediency Discernment Council's resolution, 'legally') 'according to the wife's situation'. In other words, if a woman is in good physical condition and strong, her husband has the right to beat and mistreat her more frequently and with greater intensity without falling under the meaning of 'continuity', because 'customarily' (based on the noble verse 'beat them' in the Holy Quran) and from now on 'legally', the husband has the right to punish the wife! Note that if the woman is weak and cannot bear the husband's 'continuous' beating according to custom and law, and she uses her right to request a divorce, it still does not mean that the court will issue a divorce decree for her! Ali Sajadi, Internet Unit, Persian Section of Voice of America.