Physical punishment of the wife

When respondents were asked whether a man had the right to physically punish his wife, a large proportion of the sample agreed that he could if forced to do so; 43 per cent of the sample held that he could mete out severe physical punishment if his wife had done something wrong (23.5 per cent males and 19.5 per cent females), while a further 35.5 per cent held that a man could employ light physical punishment against his wife (12.5 per cent males and 23 per cent females).

Thirteen per cent of the respondents said that the husband should only threaten to punish his wife (2 per cent males and 11 per cent females). Of the whole sample, only seventeen individuals (8.5 per cent of the sample, of which 2 per cent were males and 6.5 per cent females) held that a husband had no right to use physical punishment against his wife.

The results of the field study show that educational level had a positive impact on respondents’ stance on the issue of physical punishment, as shown in Table 1.19. Of the twelve males who received higher education, only three of them (25 per cent of this group) accepted the idea of physical punishment, and live of them (41.7 per cent of this group) held either that a husband had no right to punish his wife physically or could only threaten its use. At the same time, all the illiterate males in the sample accepted the principle of some level of physical

Table 1.19 Right of the husband to physically punish the wife (% of total)

bgcolor=white>%

Variables	Husband may physically punish wife		Light punishment		Threaten to punish		No right to physically punish
Variables	N	%	N	N	%	N	%
Primary school attended
Male	¹3	θ∙5	6	3		—	—	—
Female	9	4-5	7	3∙5	4	2	I	^o∙5
Secondary school attended
Male	6	3	7	3-5	2	I	I	⁰∙5
Female	2	I	5	2∙5	2	I	3	i∙5
Higher education
Male	3	¹∙5	4	2	2	I	3	¹∙5
Female	—	—	2	I	I	⁰∙5	2	I
Illiterate
Male	25	12.5	8	4	-	-	-	—
Female	28	¹4	32	16	¹5	7∙5	7	3∙5
Total
Male	47	²3∙5	25	12.5	4	2	4	2
Female	39	i9∙5	46	23	22	II	¹3	θ∙5
Overall	86	43	71	35∙5	26	¹3	ⁱ7	θ∙5

punishment against wives, with 75.8 per cent of this group accepting the idea of severe physical punishment.

The most critical finding of this part of the field study is that, in the sample, women themselves accepted the concept of physical punishment, as a kind of discipline affirmed by religion.

Table ι.ιg shows that 34.1 per cent of the illiterate female respondents accepted the idea of severe physical punishment, along with 16.7 per cent of women with secondary school education and 42 per cent of women with primary education. The impact of educational level is again clear here, with none of the women with higher education accepting this idea.

The field study also showed that many female respondents had been subjected to physical punishment by relatives during childhood (29.5 per cent of all female respondents); this was considered normal and routine, with the women harbouring no resentment but considering it an important tool for discipline in upbringing. Of the whole sample, 80 per cent said that they had been subjected to physical punishment, a larger proportion of these being among the men, and in inverse proportion to the socio-economic status of the family.

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Source: Welchman Lynn. Women's Rights and Islamic Family Law: Perspectives on Reform. Zed Books,2004. — 328 p.. 2004

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