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Cultures: Divorce While Sleeping
I
didn't know things like this could happen, but what's more interesting is the what was supposed to happen afterwards
and what actually happened. Pology, an amazing blog covering
cultures from all over brings our attention to an unusual case of
divorce in eastern India. Under Islamic law a husband only has to say "talaq," the Urdu word for
divorce three times to secure a permanent end to his marriage. Well, while Aftab Ansari was asleep and under the
influence of medicines to help him sleep better, the 30 year-old uttered "talaq" three times causing
his wife to worry and discuss with friends. The husband said he did not mean to divorce his wife of 11 years and that it
was an accident, however when word got around to the Village Elders their solution was this:In order to remarry the couple would have to be apart for at least 100 days and that the wife would have to spend a night with another man and then be divorced by him. The couple not wishing to obey the rules have now been ostracized according to the Yahoo news piece.
Now is that crazy or what? It's almost like the Wizard of Oz with a twist where Dorothy and Toto are at ends and "talaq" three times gets them their wish to be free from one another and Toto speaks instead of barks.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Learning, Stories, Asia, India
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jmchez Apr 4th 2006 11:15PM
Tell me again why I should believe that cultural relativism (all cultures are equally good,just different) is a good thing?
This reminds me of the British Commander in India, Charles Napier. When told that it was the custom in India to burn the widows in the dead husband's funeral pyre, he rsponded that it was a British custom to hang anyone who killed a woman in that manner. He ended by saying that the Indians could go on with their customs and the British would enforce theirs just as often. That put an end to that particular barbaric practice.