What should a wife do if her husband does not fulfil her rights

Question

Question: For three or four years now Zayd has left his wife Hinda in suspension (mu‘allaqa): he takes no care of her food and maintenance (nafaqa), never comes to her and never calls his wife to him. Nor does this Hinda have anyone to keep her: the woman’s father is old and frail; he has no house or the like, nor any income with which he could keep his daughter; nor does Zayd have a house to which this woman could go and live; nor does Zayd have any other property, so that a claim for maintenance could be filed,…

Answer

In such a situation it is best to obtain talaq from him in some way — by persuasion, by inducement or by intimidation — with his consent or without it, or to arrange a khul‘. If this is not possible, the woman should file a case in the court of an empowered Muslim ruler and give proper proof that such-and-such a person is her husband and does not fulfil her rights.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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