{"id":29896,"date":"2026-05-21T05:55:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T05:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=29896"},"modified":"2026-05-21T06:24:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T06:24:27","slug":"alimony-sent-from-abroad-but-wives-are-unable-to-take-possession-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/05\/alimony-sent-from-abroad-but-wives-are-unable-to-take-possession-of-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Alimony sent from abroad, but wives are unable to take possession of it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although a wife\u2019s and children\u2019s right to alimony (nafaqah) is clearly defined under Sharia law and legal frameworks, some women and their children in Afghanistan are still deprived of these natural rights in the absence of their husbands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Based on the jurisprudential principle \u201cmaa laa yatimmul-waajib illaa bihi fahuwa waajib\u201d meaning \u201cWhat is necessary to fulfill an obligation is itself obligatory,\u201d and the views of legal experts, when a husband migrates to another place to provide for his wife and children\u2014including food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and other basic needs\u2014it is his obligation to regularly send them living expenses.<\/p>\n

Legal experts also emphasize that a husband must, under all circumstances\u2014whether present at home or living abroad\u2014determine a specific amount for the living expenses of his wife and children.<\/p>\n

Some women in Panjshir, Daikundi, and Kabul provinces, in interviews with Salam Watandar, say that their husbands have migrated to earn a living, but their husbands\u2019 families ignore their rights. After their husbands\u2019 migration, these women\u2019s roles within the family are diminished, and the money sent by their husbands is spent without their knowledge or participation.<\/p>\n

Zainab Hossaini, a mother of two children from Panjshir, says that after her husband traveled abroad, her alimony is no longer provided, and she struggles greatly to meet her family\u2019s basic needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband went to Iran for work, and I live with his family. His income is managed by his brothers, and I have no control over it. My rights are not respected, and I face neglect and restrictions. I hardly receive money even for essential expenses,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Fatima Karimi, a mother of four children from Daikundi, says that her husband has gone abroad to provide for the family, but her father-in-law manages his income, and she has no role in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband went to Iran for work, and I live with his family. I am not included in decision-making at all and must obey others. My husband\u2019s income is managed by my father-in-law, and nothing is given to me. My access to money is very limited, and I did not react strongly to it,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Maryam Ahmadi, another interviewee from Kabul, says that after her husband went abroad, she was excluded from decision-making, and her rights have not been respected by her husband\u2019s family. According to her, the only thing she did in response was to verbally protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy financial and personal rights are not properly respected. Even for essential needs, accessing money is very difficult for me, and I must ask permission. When my rights were violated, I only protested verbally, but it had no result. Overall, after my husband left, my position within the family has weakened,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Sharifullah Sharifi, a religious scholar, says that under Islamic Sharia, a man is obligated to fully provide for his wife\u2019s and children\u2019s alimony and expenses even while traveling. In case he is unable to do so, he must sell his property or take out a loan, but he has to fulfill his obligation fully.<\/p>\n

\u201cA wife has full rights over her husband regarding food, clothing, and all her other rights. Even when he travels, he must cover all the expenses of his wife and children until he returns. If he lacks facilities, he may sell his property to provide for his family\u2019s expenses. From an Islamic jurisprudential perspective, if the husband sends money and the family misuses it, the wife has the right to file a legal claim,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Parwiz Khalili, a legal expert, says that when a man travels abroad intending to provide living expenses, he remains obligated under the enforced laws in Afghanistan to provide alimony for his wife and children. He emphasizes that if he fails to do so, the wife may first raise the matter verbally and subsequently file a complaint with the judicial authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a husband goes elsewhere to earn money in order to fulfill his wife\u2019s and children\u2019s rights, wherever the wife lives\u2014whether at her parents\u2019 or in-laws\u2019 home\u2014the alimony sent by the husband belongs to her. This is entrusted to the woman herself, and no one, under any circumstances, has the right to take possession of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He also adds that if the husband sends a lump sum for the family, he should clearly specify his wife\u2019s share. He explains,<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the money is sent as a single amount, and since the son belongs to this family, the husband should clearly say: \u2018Father, this amount is for my wife and children; 5,000 for my mother, and 2,000 for you.\u2019 These rights must be clearly defined by the husband. If the husband\u2019s family does not respect these Sharia-based rights, the woman has the right to first raise the issue with her husband and, if necessary, refer it to the court, reporting that the alimony sent by her husband has been misused or neglected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marziya Yaqin, a women\u2019s rights activist, says that when women do not have access to money that belongs to them, such attitudes gradually become normalized within families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a woman does not have access to the money that belongs to her, over time this behavior becomes normalized within the family. Such situations undermine women\u2019s independence, strengthen injustice, and can even be passed on to future generations. To prevent this problem, husbands must clearly support their wives\u2019 rights, women must have direct access to their money, and families\u2019 awareness of women\u2019s rights must be raised,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

According to Islamic Sharia and the Civil Code of Afghanistan, a wife\u2019s alimony is determined based on the husband\u2019s financial capacity, but it must not be less than her basic needs. Article 1107 of the Civil Code of Afghanistan states that alimony includes all customary and appropriate necessities according to the woman\u2019s situation, such as shelter, food, clothing, healthcare, and medical expenses.<\/p>\n

Reporter: Sharifa Qasemi<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some women in Panjshir, Daikundi, and Kabul provinces, in interviews with Salam Watandar, say that their husbands have migrated to earn a living, but their husbands\u2019 families ignore their rights. After their husbands\u2019 migration, these women\u2019s roles within the family are diminished, and the money sent by their husbands is spent without their knowledge or participation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,9,16,977,24],"tags":[207,1530,1899,1900,1901,1902],"class_list":["post-29896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-soceity","category-report","category-women-rights","category-women","tag-women","tag-abroad","tag-alimony","tag-wives","tag-husbands","tag-money"],"views":17,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29896"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29903,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29896\/revisions\/29903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}