Saudi Gazette report
DAMMAM – Many have been wondering if the term “house of obedience”, which refers to the practice where husbands can make wives who leave them return home against their will, still exists. Al-Riyadh daily shed more light on the practice and asked experts and lawyers if the practice is oppressive toward women.
Rana Al-Qarni, lawyer, said this is an Islamic term and courts have separate sections that deal with cases related to “house of obedience”. She added that if a wife rebels against her husband and does not fulfill her marital duties and leaves her husband’s home, the husband can file a “house of obedience” case if he treats her well.
The court refers the matter to the pertinent committee. If it is found that the wife just wants to leave her husband’s house for no real reason, she will be forced by a court order to return to her husband’s house. Once she goes back to her husband’s home, she can go and file for divorce.
Dr. Suhaila Zain Al-Abideen, member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), says this term does not belong to Shariah and it was originally adopted from Article 212 of the French Law.
“Why would a wife disobey her husband if the latter was treating her fine?” she asked.
“If a husband is nice to his wife and treats her respectfully but she does not want to live with him, he should let her go and divorce her.”
Muhammad Al-Mabi, official registrar of marriage contracts, said the term exists in Shariah. If a wife does not want to live with her husband, she should file for divorce.
“She should not just leave the house like that and fail to fulfill her duties without any convincing reasons.
“If she leaves the house without her husband’s permission and goes to her family house, the husband can file a ‘house of obedience’ case.”
Dr. Abdullah Al-Jifn, Muslim scholar, said if a husband is a drug addict or abusive, his wife can leave him.
“In this case, he cannot file a ‘house of obedience’ case because one of the grounds for such cases is that the wife is not a victim of an abusive relationship.”
Statistics: (Al-Sharq)
In 2013, courts all over the Kingdom looked into 2,627 cases, with Riyadh on top with 646. Jeddah courts came second with 538 followed by Eastern Province courts at 268.
