‘Beating wife OK, but can’t leave marks’
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates): The UAE’s highest judicial body says a man can beat his wife and young children as long as the beating leaves no physical marks.
The decision by the federal supreme court shows the strong influence of Islamic law in the Emirates despite its international appeal in which foreign residents greatly outnumber the local population.
The court made the ruling earlier this month in the case of a man who left cuts and bruises on his wife and adult daughter after a beating.
The wife suffered injuries to her lower lip and teeth and the daughter had bruises on her right hand and right knee.
The court said that the man was guilty of harming the women but noted that Islamic codes allow for “discipline” if no marks are left.
“Although the [law] permits the husband to use his right [to discipline], he has to abide by the limits of this right,” the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper the National quoted chief justice Falah al-Hajeri as saying in a court document.
“If the husband abuses this right to discipline, he cannot be exempted from punishment,” the chief justice further said.
The court also ruled that the bruises were evidence that the father had abused his Sharia right.
The supreme court also ruled that children who have reached “adulthood” – approximately puberty – cannot be struck. “He is not allowed, according to the Sharia, to beat his daughter, who is 23 years old,” the chief justice further said.
The Sharjah court of first instance had fined the father 500 dirhams for the abuse.
The decision was upheld by the Sharjah court of appeals, following which the man had approached the federal supreme court.
Ahmed al Kubaisi, the head of the department of Sharia studies at UAE University and Baghdad University, told the National that beating one’s wife is at times “necessary to preserve family bonds”.
“If a wife committed something wrong, a husband can report her to police," al Kubaisi was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
“But sometimes she does not do a serious thing or he does not want to let others know; when it is not good for the family. In this case, hitting is a better option.”
The wife suffered injuries to her lower lip and teeth and the daughter had bruises on her right hand and right knee.
The court said that the man was guilty of harming the women but noted that Islamic codes allow for “discipline” if no marks are left.
“Although the [law] permits the husband to use his right [to discipline], he has to abide by the limits of this right,” the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper the National quoted chief justice Falah al-Hajeri as saying in a court document.
“If the husband abuses this right to discipline, he cannot be exempted from punishment,” the chief justice further said.
The court also ruled that the bruises were evidence that the father had abused his Sharia right.
The supreme court also ruled that children who have reached “adulthood” – approximately puberty – cannot be struck. “He is not allowed, according to the Sharia, to beat his daughter, who is 23 years old,” the chief justice further said.
The Sharjah court of first instance had fined the father 500 dirhams for the abuse.
The decision was upheld by the Sharjah court of appeals, following which the man had approached the federal supreme court.
Ahmed al Kubaisi, the head of the department of Sharia studies at UAE University and Baghdad University, told the National that beating one’s wife is at times “necessary to preserve family bonds”.
“If a wife committed something wrong, a husband can report her to police," al Kubaisi was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
“But sometimes she does not do a serious thing or he does not want to let others know; when it is not good for the family. In this case, hitting is a better option.”
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