Economic freedom for women and divorce in Iran. NYT Article
You know, I wouldn't even want to marry; I mean who in their right mind forgoes the right to divorce by entering a relationship where it is still unacceptable for the couples to live together before marriage? Women cannot get a divorce if their husband refuses to consent to divorce. Even that some of money can not be a forceful enough leverage.
Now there's one thing I don't understand... "just one thing???".. If you get married the man is supposed to at the time of marriage set up a lump sum payment (mehrieh) that the woman gets if he divorces her?
Does this payment change over the years? Because if it doesn't that would seem like a pretty good deal financially for the man. I mean if you get married when you're 22 and promise to pay $20,000 to your wife in case of divorce is it the same payment 20 years later when you're some big shot and $20,000 is just a small portion of your wealth??
Well, it is never in form of cash. It usually is a portion of real estate or is in form of gold. especially here where depreciation of our money is so drastic no one ever agrees on cash. A very balanced sum that no guy says no to today is about $100,000 give or take. And no guy could set that up right away, though mehrieh means when a woman asks, the husband should pay, not necessarily upon divorce. That's actually how you get a divorce, because if a man fails to pay that sum, he is taken into prison. Not sure why guys want to get married here either. None of the people who do are in their right mind. All these screwed up laws!
So essentially a woman who wants to live happily with her husband never asks for her mehrieh, unless she plans to threaten him to prison if he doesn't give her a divorce.
Also since the woman only gets 1/8 of his husbands property upon his death!!, (the rest goes to children or husbands family) this sum ensures that she gets more than actually 1/8 of everything. Islamic laws with Persian touch, gotta love'em.
"Fire cannot kill a dragon." -Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones
I mean if you get married when you're 22 and promise to pay $20,000 to your wife in case of divorce is it the 
