The husband lives elsewhere, having married there: what should this wife do

Question

Question: A married woman whose nikah took place ten years ago; six months later her husband went to Africa, and more than nine years have passed since then. He sends the woman only a small amount for food and clothing, which is insufficient for her, and because of this she suffers hardship. The woman is now twenty-five years old, that is, in the prime of youth.

Answer

If the woman cannot provide for her food and drink by earning a living while preserving her chastity, and she has become completely helpless, then the better course for her is to obtain talaq from her husband somehow — by offering him some inducement or for nothing — or to have khul‘.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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