Women can't ask for divorce without husband's consent, rules CII

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has declared ‘Khula’ (right of a woman to seek divorce) without the consent of a husband to dissolve a marriage, is un-Islamic.

According to The Express Tribune, the powerful religious body observed on Thursday that courts were dissolving nikkahs in the name of ‘Khula’, which was not correct since only the husband had the right to grant ‘Khula’ after which courts could dissolve marriage contracts.

Urging civil courts to differentiate between ‘Khula’ and a unilateral dissolution of marriage through a court order, the CII said several women who had dissolved their marriages using ‘Khula’ were still not certain if their marriage had actually been dissolved.

A civil court decreeing dissolution of marriage on a wife’s plea without her husband’s consent, under the name of Khula, would be in violation of the Holy Quran and Sunnah, the council observed.

The council also observed that denying a husband the right to appeal against such a ‘unilateral’ court decision would also be unjust as per Islamic law.

According to a majority of ulemas, a wife has to forfeit her financial rights when ‘Khula’ is used to dissolve a marriage. However, the two can reach an agreement outside the law if a mutual understanding is established.

As per the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act passed in 1939, “Judicial khula is allowed to be authorised without the husband’s consent if the wife has agreed to forfeit her financial rights.

Marriage is not considered a sacrament among Muslims but rather a civil contract with spiritual and moral undertones.”