In Iraq Men are illegally divorcing their wives without them knowing.

By Aso Akram in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 118, 25-Mar-05)

Life for 38 year old Lana has no meaning since her husband of 18 years informed her that he’d divorced her five months earlier. Lana lived with her husband during those months, so she is shocked to hear the news.

"My eyes filled with tears, my knees buckled and I was half paralysed," said Lana, who is one of the many women divorced without their knowledge in Iraq.
Personal status laws dictate that both husband and wife must attend court for a divorce to be granted, but the laws are often violated and men are handed separation without their wives’ involvement.

Dalia, 37, is another woman who wasn’t involved in the process. "My divorce case is very strange. I don’t know why I was divorced," she said.