WOMEN�S RIGHTS

In return, a woman has her rights.  She is entitled to a lawful maintenance (nafaqah); if the husband fails to provide it, she can seek a divorce.  She is also entitled to a dowry (mahr), or what the QurAn in some verses (4:24, 33:50) calls her �hire� (ujUrat).  She can claim it when divorced.

She is also to be consulted in the choice of her partner.  �A woman who has been previously married (Sayyib) has more right to her person than her guardian.  And a virgin should also be consulted, and her silence implies her consent� (3307).  Theoretically, a Muslim woman is entitled to make the marriage contract herself, but in practice it is her nearest kinsman, the guardian (walI), who does it.  The father and the grandfather are even called �compelling walIs.� According to some schools, a minor girl given in marriage by a guardian other than her father or grandfather can seek dissolution of the marriage when she attains her majority.

author : ram swarup