Woman Between Islam and Western Society
8. Concerning Divorce
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sensual, pleasure-seeking people. This state of
affairs was given a boost by industrialization, as a
woman could easily procure an-independent
livelihood for herself. This had never before been
possible. Because of this, she has frequently refused
to live under the guardianship of men which, in
consequence has created a large number of social
problems leading to greatly increased rates of
divorce.
The western philosophers who wanted to check
divorce advocated legal curbs upon men, which
would legally bind them to provide maintenance to
the wife after the divorce. This maintenance sum
was fixed according to western living standards, so
that, in most cases, divorce meant that the man had
to part with a fair amount of his hard earned money
for the whole of the rest of his life.
A victim of this unnatural state of affairs was Lord
Bertrand Russell, one of the most intelligent and
outstanding intellectuals of his time. Soon after his
marriage, he discovered that his wife no longer
inspired any feelings of love in him. Although
realizing this incompatibility, he did not seek an
