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Fatwa allows wives to hit husbands in self-defence
by Scott Gilbreath ~ October 28th, 2008
Saudi Arabian officials have accepted a fatwa that originated in Turkey giving women permission to strike husbands in self-defence.
Sheikh Mohsen al Obeikan, an adviser to the Saudi Ministry of Justice and a member of the Saudi Shura Council agreed with some Islamic scholars in Turkey and Egypt in this regard. “This [issue] is acknowledged by Islamic jurists and it has roots in Islamic Shariah, the Quran and the Hadith [Prophetic traditions],” said the Sheikh. He referred to the following excerpts of the Quran: ‘The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree),’ [Surat Ashoura: 40] and ‘…whoever then acts aggressively against you, inflict injury on him according to the injury he has inflicted on you…’ [Surat al Baqara: 194]
Al Obeikan, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat by phone, said women should only hit their husbands if they are defending themselves.
For the average Arab wife, the fatwa is only a sop. Husbands are almost always taller and stronger than their wives. Unless she knows martial arts or resorts to using a knife or other weapon, a wife so bold as to strike back against an angry and violent husband only risks more severe injury.
The ultimate answer is for legal and religious authorities to tell husbands that physical violence against women is never justified. Until that happens, this fatwa will not help most women in Muslims lands.
And here’s the proof of that statement.
The fatwa has been met with controversy among the conservatives in Turkey as it may “stir up rebellion” within families.
h/t: The Women of Islam
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October 30th, 2008 at 02:39 PM
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