Divorced women in Egypt find it difficult to remarry An Egyptian woman has been ordered to pay her former husband $7,500 compensation money, following his discovery that she had lied to him about being a virgin. The husband received a series of text messages exposing his wife’s lies.
He accused his wife of deceiving him into believing that she has never been married before and was therefore a virgin and of having surgery to restore her virginity in an effort to conceal the truth.
The civil court in Abu Dhabi ruled in the man’s favour, ordering that his former wife must pay compensation for emotional damage caused and misleading him.
The money awarded is also meant to help the man overcome the stigma of marrying a divorced woman, as it is considered in some parts of traditional Arab society as embarrassing.
The court established the woman had been married previously and was in fact divorced. The court also noted that she had made false statements ‘with the help of her father, in the couple’s marriage contract – stating that she had never been married or had sex,’ according to press reports.
The couple had been married for three years and have a child together.