News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-08-05
WOMEN IN TURKEY.
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT A SORT
OF ONE SIDED AFFAIR
aon' - 3. Cox, our Minister Exposes the
Secrets of this Harem.

CTS "a ms HAEems
The first wife has no right to oppose
her husbands marrying a second, third
and fourth time He is not compelled
to even ask her opinion about the mat
ter. 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 cousin or an aunt OF
hers. She msy oppose and prevent
such an alliance. If he insist, in spite
OF her opposition, he must re udiate the
wife and pay her dover. This some
times is very difficult thing to do.
The dover is obligatory, though it is
not necessary that it should be part of
the contract. Its amount is fixed by
agreement. As a rule it varies accord
ing to the social condition of the wom-
an. 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 provision
for the repudiated wife. The code
means that she shall have decent sup
port for the period of time she is for
hidden to marry. This period is six
months. Dover is intended also as
shield against too frequent regulations.
1t happens often that though the hus-
band Is DESTROYS of repudiating his wife
he finds it impossible to paw her dover
so he abstains from repudiating her.
The law fixes the dover to five hundred
drains of silver. or sixty-five ounces of
silver. This is but a pittance nova
days; but it 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
III VI NONCAy CANNpG anu
hogs One of the odd forms of dover
is the teaching of chapter of the Koran
by the husband to the wife. 1t is a
pious, though pecuniary equivalent!
Dover Ialso may be slave, or house,
or anything of value. If the husband is
not able to furnish them he is liable for
their value. The dover may also be
agreed upon after the marriage. The
wife may exonorate the husband from
the dover, or she may commute it for
something else. She becomes the pro-
prietor of the dover, and may legally
dispose of ii; but should the husband
divorce her before the marriage is con-
sumatcd, the half of it reverts to him.
Should she forgive him that which be-
longs to her, the whole would be his.
Ii a slave be assigned as dover, and she
should emancipate the slave, and she is
divorced before the consumation of the
marriage, she is liable for half the value
of the slave. In case of dispute with
regard to the amount of the dover, the
word of the husband is preferred until
the contrary is proved; whereas, if he
acknowledge the amount stated as the
dover, and alleges its delivery, but fails
to prove it, credit is given to the word
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 its initiative
In the organic law that each man mas a
right to Jour wives, and that man ha4
the absolute di posal of all the hours of
the day for mself. The law allows no
right to the wife to claim the attention
of her husband during the daytime. 1t
creates an obligation upon the husband
to divide the rest of his time equally
between his wives, or at least he is not
bound to make his cou t, or to be with
one wife more than once in every four
days, and this whether he has one wife
or more If among his wives there is a
slave, she has the right only to receive
half the time allotted to the free wife.
This does not include slaves or odalis-
ques who are not lawfully married.
The temporary marriages being ad-
mitted only by the Sheeahs, and these !
temporary contracts not being Under |
general Mohammedan law, it may suffice |
to state that such marriages can be !
legally made for one month or one year.
They are allowed By the religious rules
of that cect.
The harshness of the marriage con-
tract toward the women of the Moham.
medan countries is greatly exaggerated, |
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 the con-
tracing parties over the property of |
the other party. The wife retains her |
power of disposing of her estate. She
can be sued or sue. In suing, she has |
no need of a ''next friend" or trustee
She may summon her own husband into |
court. Nor Is he liable for any debts of |
her contracting He does not vulgarly, |
as was once the custom in America, ad- |
vertise her absence from bed or board |
to avoid the payment of her debts.
True, he must maintain her and paw her
dover, as We have stated, in case of
separation.
So that, in many res ects, if estern
nations may not learn something of
utility and equity from the Mohamme
dan code in the matter of marriage, they
may at least refuse to edit the wild
and unfounded statements that the
woman of the East is a slave TO her hus-
b; nd, and compelled to serve him, as if
he had the ring of the Arabian story,
upon which the genii were accustomed
to wait.