He wouldn't call it "beating," of course, because husbands are supposed to apply corporal punishment "gently," but unfortunately the premise is that husbands have the right to discipline wives as though they are unruly children, and often in the heat of marital disputes it is difficult to show restraint once the hand is raised.
Salim Mohamedi, an imam and inspector at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, so a part of the state, has just allowed men to beat their wives "as a last resort to scare them and put them in the right path."
These offensive remarks were reported by the Arabic daily, Echorouk, from a report written in response to a proposal made by some associations to "criminalize" domestic violence. According to the Imam, Islam allows men to hit their wives only if the blows are "not too violent and do not cause injury." In other words, he must hit "gently."
The Imam, who is writing in an official government capacity, is not the only one to reject the call for decriminalising domestic violence. Mrs. Djaâfri Chaia, President of the Algerian Observatory of Women sees value in leaving shari'a norms in place:
[She denounced] this initiative considering that the criminalizing domestic violence would only increase the number of divorces in Algeria. She said the problems between husband and wife should be treated with discretion. In short it asks women to be silent and not complain. It therefore recommended that victims of violence resort to "conciliation councils."
Unfortunately, the inequality within marriage between husband and wife is compounded by both a severe inhibition of freedom for the women and no guidance on how to forgive offences, which is a balm for injuries within marriage. Only when men are called to love their wives as their very selves, to lay down their lives for them, and to consider the bonds of marriage exclusive and unbreakable will families be a safe haven for all the members. This reveals a significant defect in the Muslim view of marriage.
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