Opinion

Stuck between the wife and the mother

November 24, 2017
Stuck between the wife and the mother

Nefeen Abbas

Albilad newspaper

We often hear about problems between wives and their mothers-in-law. Most wives do not get along with their husband’s mother. Some wives tend to be patient and wisely deal with such problems. They try their best to contain problems before they become more complicated. Some wives, on the other hand, treat their husband’s mother as an archenemy. Naturally, a mother refuses to let another woman share her son’s love; similarly, the wife wants complete independence in her marital life and does not want her husband’s mother to interfere.

Sometimes the situation gets out of control and disputes between a man’s mother and his wife become strained to the point that both the mother and wife begin to hate each other. This might pose a dilemma for the husband who will be forced to make a difficult choice: should he side with his mother and please her or should he side with his wife?

I advise women in these situations to try their best to get along with their mothers-in-law and build a good relationship with them if they want to live happy lives. A wife should never disrespect her husband’s mother or belittle her. On the contrary, she should view the situation from a mother’s perspective. After all, the wife will be a mother one day and might be in a similar situation when her own son marries.

I also advise wives to always discuss disputes with their husbands who can help deal with situations without anyone getting hurt. A smart wife should always urge her husband to be kind and obedient to his mother.

It is wrong to put the husband in a situation in which he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place; he either has to choose to side with his mother or his wife. In fact, I have heard of many instances in which wives have forced their husbands to beat their mothers, force them out of the house and even admit them into old people’s homes.

I advise husbands to treat their wives and mothers fairly and to try as much as they can to keep both pleased.


November 24, 2017
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