A.A. Abdulla v. A.B. Mohmuna Saiyadbhai, 18 February 1988.
The Court held that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance and that this maintenance is not limited to the period of iddat.  It based its decision on Section 3(1)(a) of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, of India (Annual Review of Population Law, Vol. 13, 1986, Section 320), which provides that "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, a divorced woman shall be entitled to a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid to her within the iddat period by her former husband . . . ."  It interpreted this Section to mean that "on or before the expiration of the iddat period, the husband is bound to make and pay a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to the wife," not that the maintenance is to be given only during the period of iddat.  It concluded that to interpret the provision otherwise would be to abrogate the rights of Muslim women under other laws. Iddat is defined in the 1986 Act as "three menstrual courses after the date of divorce," if the wife is subject to menstruation, or "three lunar months after her divorce," if the wife is not subject to menstruation.  In 1988, the High Court of Kerala reached a similar decision. (See Ali vs. Sufaria, Kerala Law Times, No. 2, 1988, p. 94.)
D001208:Asia; D003906:Developing Countries; D004243:Divorce; D004467:Economics; D007194:India; D007514:Islam; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008393:Marriage; D012067:Religion; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014933:Women's Rights
Asia; Court Decision; Developing Countries; Divorce; Economic Factors; India; Islam; Microeconomic Factors; Nuptiality; Religion; Socioeconomic Factors; Southern Asia; Spousal Support--legal aspects; Spousal Support--religious aspects; Women's Status