George Banna, M. Bitar:
July 25, 2026
Dedicated to the French Femen movement, which recently thwarted the hypocritical conference organized by the sheikhs in Paris.
Anyone who wants to guarantee women’s rights as human beings—rights of dignity, justice, and equality—must work to uphold women’s humanity,This means treating them as human beings, not as animals to be bought and sold like camels or human cattle. Only secular forces can undertake this task, because other forces, such as religious ones, are bankrupt, They want to uphold women’s rights, men’s rights, children’s rights, or everyone’s rights as we see them secularly and civilly, as we understand them; not as Abdullah Rushdi, Ibn Abdullah, or their ilk understand them.
The issue of women’s rights encompasses dozens, even hundreds, of aspects. Therefore, we will limit ourselves to mentioning some of these aspects, including material, social, and even moral considerations,To truly humanize women, we must remove the influence of Islamic law on marriag, We believe that Islamic law is unsuitable to oversee marriage and its arrangements, Islamic law is merely a marketplace for buying and selling based on dowry and a contract that has earned the name “nikah” (marriage contract). Marriage, especially when motivated by the desire for sexual gratification and lacking genuine acquaintance or love, is nothing more than a transaction, much like brothels and slave markets.
Morally and objectively, it is inappropriate to continue referring to the marriage contract as a “nikah” contract, because marriage is not limited to the act of sexual intercourse, A relationship between a man and a woman that is limited to sexual intercourse alone is akin to prostitution. Morally, the term “nikah” suggests a great deal of vulgarity and crudeness, which is unworthy of the marital life that guarantees the continuation of humanity, Furthermore, a contract between the two parties is not necessary, A woman who lives with a man by her own choice and consent is considered his wife, and he is her husband, even without a written contract between them personally, The contract exists in civil laws, which recognize the cohabitation of an adult woman and an adult man as a marital relationship.
Civil laws apply to everyone without discrimination, thus ensuring equality in all marriages, This is guaranteed by civil law, whose provisions apply to all. Civil law does not recognize special privileges, although each marital relationship has its own specificities, which the husband and wife regulate in a way that suits them,With marriage or cohabitation, the individual right ceases to exist and is replaced by the right of marital partnership, transforming them into something akin to a single body, Each member or partner has roles, duties, and rights, thus achieving integration within the family.
The income of either spouse is considered the income of both, even if one’s work is limited to domestic duties, such as the wife’s work in the home, In this case, it cannot be said that the husband is supporting her financially if he works outside the home, as his income is also her income. If they separate, each is entitled to half of what they earned during their marriage, The right to divorce is guaranteed equally to both, A legal system that grants the husband the right to divorce while denying it to the wife is corrupt, just as the right to polygamy is corrupt.
The legal age for this partnership is over 18 for both parties, Civil law does not recognize any marriage below this age, Marriage or child marriage is prohibited, and anyone under 18 is considered a child. Religious figures have no role in marriage, which can take place even without a civil contract. A voluntary cohabitation constitutes a fully-fledged marital relationship.
There is no such thing as adultery or fornication, as defined in Article 111 of the Iraqi Penal Code.,A man striking his wife or children is not considered disciplinary or a male right, but rather a criminal act,Civil authorities are obligated to terminate the cohabitation and place the children in the care of the mother or father in rare cases, or in the care of another family, as is common in Sweden. The children are the children of life , not solely the children of the spouses life
The topic of married life or shared life has many complexities and differences between societies, It is clear that shared life fails in religious societies or groups at a higher rate than in secular civil societies, Swedish society may represent the secular civil state, and Afghan groups represent the religious state, The comparison between Sweden and Afghanistan illustrates the difference between the religious and the civil