Abstract

Breaking off matrimonial relationship as a permissible right absolutely belongs to the husbands under Islamic Shariah principles; while limited options are given to the wife within its framework, such as divorce by the delegated power, Khula and Mubarat. Alongside, the statutory development has taken place in different countries recognizing the judicial involvement for the dissolution of Muslim marriage. Bangladesh is not far cry from all these practices. According to the statutory laws of Bangladesh, a Muslim husband has the unilateral right to divorce his wife whenever he chooses, for any reason. A Muslim wife can only use the unilateral right to divorce if her husband explicitly grants it to her in the marriage contract. Furthermore, she may also file to the Family Court for a divorce. The right to divorce between a Muslim husband and a Muslim wife are not similar, and hence contradictory with the constitutional spirit on equality. The existing laws of Bangladesh relating to women initiated divorce suffers from various loopholes or shortcomings which hamper wife to exercise her legal right to divorce. Women initiated dissolution of marriage under the terms of ‘khula’, ‘delegated power’ and ‘judicial divorce’ raises many questions regarding inequality. The rate of women initiated divorce is increasing day by day in Bangladesh. Therefore, investigation into the existing laws recognizing the women’s rights to dissolution of marriage in Bangladesh as to whether these laws and Shariah options consider the equality is academically invaluable and significant. This article is an attempt to focus on the weaknesses of the existing laws related with the wife initiated divorce in Bangladesh and recommends the changes or modifications into the existing legal framework of Bangladesh.