Woman may divorce man in jail: Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate

ISTANBUL / Hürriyet

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Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate has stated that it is religiously permissible for a woman whose husband is sentenced to one or more years in prison to apply for a divorce.

“A majority of Islamic scholars agree that the wife cannot demand a divorce if her husband is imprisoned, arrested for a long time, or is a prisoner of war. However, according to the Malikis, one of the schools of religious law within Sunni Islam, if the husband is apart from the wife for more than a year, for whatever reason, then the wife has the right to demand a divorce,” said the Religious Affairs Directorate in a fatwa.

“The judge can divorce the couples who remain apart for more than a year. This rule is the same for the cases when husband is sentenced to prison for one or more years. Remaining apart for such duration will cause the women to be deprived from her rights of getting alimony,” it added. A woman whose husband is lost can demand a divorce after waiting for four years and get married with another man, the directorate also said.