Post-Divorce Maintenance (Mata-At Talaq) and Women Empowerment in Bangladesh

Abstract

Maintenance is the main responsibility of man in the Quran. He has to provide the basic necessities of life to women. After marriage, it is obligatory for a man to feed his family. The wife and children should not suffer. If there is a clash between husband and wife and they cannot fulfill the responsibilities of marriage then Islam allows divorce (separation). The divorced woman needs maintenance. There is no conflict about maintenance during marriage but this is a great cause of contradiction and discussion after iddah period. This concept is known as ‘Post-divorce Maintenance’ or ‘Mata at talaq’. Post-divorce maintenance is the established concept in the Quran, Hadith, and Fiqh of the classic and present-day ulema. Muslim countries have their laws regarding the maintenance of women. The present research has a special focus on Bangladesh. The main purpose of this research is to examine how post-divorce maintenance is used as an alternative to the empowerment of Muslim women in Bangladesh. However, there is no legal provision in Bangladesh’s judicial system. The study explores the empowerment of women after divorce through maintenance after iddah. It is concluded that all the countries should opt for the system of post-divorce maintenance to empower women.

Keywords: Post-divorce Maintenance, woman, empowerment,  Iddah, Bangladesh