Man must pay ex-wife for “enjoying body”: Judge

Besides alimony paid by men to their divorced wives under Islamic law, women must also demand end of service benefits from their ex-husbands for enjoying their bodies during marriage. And it is time for courts to consider such a demand.

A prominent Saudi judge, who came out with such a bold ruling, said the only reason that no court has ever considered this issue is that women are either not aware of this right or they simply have not made such a demand in court.

“The reason that a divorced woman has not been granted indemnity of this kind by her ex-husband is because she has not demanded it in court,” Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Shairmi said, quoted by the Saudi Arabic language newspaper Al Jazeira.

“This demand is allowed in Islam. A divorced woman can request end of service benefits from her ex-husband for enjoying her body during their marriage. This indemnity should be separate from the known alimony demanded by divorced women from their husbands for themselves and their children.”

Shairmi, a judge in the western Saudi town of Makkah, said the “end of service benefits” had not been included in the divorce contracts by courts because women themselves had not made such demands. “I consider this as inaction and negligence by women not by courts because a judge cannot impose anything unless the plaintiff makes a plea.”