Evaluating the Legitimacy of a Husband’s Opposition to His Wife’s Employment Despite the Stipulation of Her Right to Work in the Marriage Contract

Document Type : Scholarly Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Law, faculity of Theology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

2 M.A. in Islamic Jurisprudence and the Principles of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran

3 Ph.D. Candidate in Islamic Jurisprudence and the Principles of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

One of the issues that has received only superficial attention in family law is the stipulation of the wife’s right to work within the marriage contract. Assuming the validity of this condition, the question arises whether the husband’s obligation to it is absolute, or whether, in certain cases, he may still lawfully prevent his wife from working despite the stipulation. Ultimately, if the husband objects to the wife’s employment without a valid justification, what right accrues to the wife? A critical yet underexplored point is that, if the condition granting the wife the right to work is invalid, no obligation is imposed on the husband to fulfill it, and no right arises for the wife from his noncompliance. A non-exhaustive review of the literature reveals that most authors have regarded this condition as unconditionally valid. However, the present article demonstrates, through a reasoned analysis of the rationale for fulfilling stipulated conditions, that such a condition—and any cause leading to a ruling contrary to the primary substantive legal norm—must be limited to a defined duration in order to be valid. Previous authors have confined the husband’s legitimate opposition to his wife’s employment exclusively to the cases enumerated in Article 1117 of the Civil Code. In contrast, this article establishes that general stipulations of the right to work and specific stipulations do not carry the same legal ruling, and that the restriction of permissible opposition under Article 1117 applies solely to the former. In situations where the husband’s opposition to the wife’s employment is prohibited, the right accruing to the wife depends on determining which category of conditions—among those set forth in Article 234 of the Civil Code—the stipulation exemplifies. Unlike earlier studies, this article provides evidence-based analysis on this point.

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Main Subjects

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Biannual Journal of Family Law And Jurisprudence
Volume 30, Issue 83
June 2025
Pages 5-30

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