The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-07-30
Women in Turkey.
HON. $. 8. cox, OUR MINISTER, EXPOSES
THE SECRETS or THE uAREM.

The first wife has no right to OPP
pose her husbands marrying a second,
third and fourth time. lie is not COM
PEELED to even ask her opinion about
the matter. He is free In the premises,
so long as he does not exceed four
wives. The only instance where the
consent of the wife is required is in
case the husband wants to marry a
cousin or an aunt of hers. She may
oppose and prevent such an alliance.
If he insist, in spite of her opposition,
he must repudiate the wife and pay her
dover. This sometimes is q very diff.
cult thing to do.
The dover is obligatory, though it
is not necessary that it should be a
part of the contract. Its amount is
fixed by agreement As rule it varies
according to the social condition of the
woman. Thus, in case no dover has
been allowed, as often happens, the
judge fixes it under the law; and
although the law has fixed some limits
to it, still it is left to the discretion of
the judge. He may make it sufficient
for the kind of living to which the
woman has been accustomed
In making the dover obligatory,
the code has in view principally pro.
vision for the repudiated wife. The
code means that she shall have a de-
cent support for the period of time she
is forbidden to marry. This period is
six months. Dover is attended also
as a shield against too frequent repudi-
ations. 1t happens often that though
the husband is desirous of repudiating
his wife he finds it impossible to pay
her dover; so he abstans from repudi-
ating her. The law fixes the dover to
five hundred drains of silver, or sixty
five ounces of silver. This is but a
pittance nowadays; Int was fixed by
the prophet. This is the amount
which he accessed for his own wives.
1t must have been adequate for the few
necessities required by woman among
the Arab tribes at Mecca and Medina
thirteen hundred years ago. Besides,
it was fixed at an epoch when silver
was scarcer than it is now, and before
bonanzas of the white metal had
leaped out of the sunless temples of
the earth.
Moreover, anything which is capable
of being legally acquired may be made
in payment of dover, except wine and
hogs One of the odd forms of dover
is the teaching of chapter of the
Koran by the husband to the wife. 1t
is pious, though pecuniary equiva-
lent Dover also may be slave. or
a house. or anything of value. If the
husband is not able to furnish them he
ia liable for their value. The dover
may also be agreed upon after the mar
riage.- The wife may exonerate the
husband from the dover, or she may
commute it for something else. She
becomes the proprietor of the dover,
and may legally dispose of it; but
should the husband divorce her before
the marriage is consumated, the half of
it reverts to him. Should she forgive
him that which belongs to her, the
whole would be his. If slave be as
signed as dover, and she should eman
cipate the slave, and she is divorced
before the consumation of the marri-
age, she is liable for half the value of
the slave. In case of dispute with re-
gard to the amount of the dover, the
word of the husband is preferred until
the contrary is proved; whereas, if he
acknowledges the amount stated as the
dover, and alleges its delivery, but fails
to prove it, credit is given to the world
and oath of the woman.
The code provides as to the time to
be devoted by the husband to each one
of his wives, in case he has more than
one. This rule of law has it's imitia-
tive in the organic law that each man
has right to four wives, and that a
man has the absolute disposal of all
the hours of the day for himself The
law allows no right to the wife to
claim the attention of her husband
during the daytime. 1t creates an OBJ
legation upon the husband to divide
the rest of his time equally between
his wives, or at least he is not bound
to make his count, or to be with one
wife more than ence in every four
days, and this whether he has one wife
or more. If among the wives there is
a slave, she has the right only to re-
ceive half the time allotted to the free
wife. This does not include slaves or
odalisques who are not lawfully mar
ried.
The temporary marriages being ad-
mitted only by the Sheeahs, and these |
temporary contracts not being under
general Mohammedan law, it may suf- |
flee to state that such marriages can be |
legally made for one month or one
year. They are allowed by the. reli-
gious rules of that sect.
The barshness of the marriage cor.
tract toward the women of the Moham- |
medan countries is greatly exaggerat-
cd, if not entirely fanciful. Marriage
is, as we have said, civil contract. 1t
is like, and yet not unlike, the contract
in England and America. 1t gives no
preference or right to either of tine con
tracing parties over the property of
the other party. The wife retains her
power of disposing of her estate. She
Cdl Uc hutu Ut sue, III SUNG, Sue mas |
no need of next friend" or trustee.
She may summon her own husband in
to court. Nor is he liable for any
debts of her contracting. He does not
as was once the custom in
America, advertise her absence from
bed or board to avoid the payment of
her debts. True, he must maintain
her and pay her dover, as we have
stated, in case of separation.
So that, in many respects, if western
nations may not learn something of
utility and equity from the Mohamme-
dan code in the matter of marriages,
hey may at least refuse to credit the
wild and unfounded statements that
The woman of the East is slave to
her husband, and compelled to serve
him, s.if he had the ring of the Ara
bian story, upon which the genii were
to wait.
Specimens of paper slippers, sandals,
md other coverings for the feet-a
ubstitute for, leather, etc-have been
'rought TO notice in London, where