An Egyptian woman recently filed for divorce from her husband because he was practically treating her like a slave.
Identified as Mona, the wife told a family court in Cairo that her husband, Ahmad, was lazy and expected her to do everything for him. Things got to the extent where he would wake her up from sleep, asking her to fetch him a cup of water.
The woman noticed her husband was slothful in the first week of their marriage and tried to help him change.
After keeping it to herself for months to avoid arguments, Mona brought the issue up one more time but was severely beaten by her husband, who told her that as a wife, "her duty is to obey him."
The wife then packed her bags and went back to her family home, adamant on seeking a divorce.
Speaking to the judge in court, Mona said Ahmad didn't have any illnesses that restricted his movement but just wanted everything to be done for him.
The couple were engaged for seven months before getting married, but their union didn't last more than a year.
Arab women were all for this divorce
Because we've had enough with babying Arab men
Many hailed Mona as a role model
"She should've divorced him a long time ago"
Arab women are refusing to stay in failed marriages
The patriarchal societies that exist across the Arab world make it difficult for married women to get divorced. For decades, many would be forced to stay in failed or even abusive marriages, but this is slowly changing.
In recent years, brave Arab women defied social norms, filing divorce cases against abusive and exploitative husbands.
Earlier this year, a Kuwaiti woman divorced her husband just three minutes after marrying him because he called her "stupid." The duo separated even before walking out of the court in which they had just signed their marriage contract.
At the time, news outlets reported that the bride got upset after the groom insulted her for tripping while walking out of the court hall. Instead of lending her a helping hand, the man called her "stupid" for stumbling.
In 2018, a UAE-based Arab woman ended her marriage because her husband was making her pay for rides in his car.
The husband would charge his wife 500 dirhams ($136) every single time she asks him to drive her somewhere, telling her he should be getting paid for spending time chauffeuring her instead of being with his friends.
That same year, a Saudi woman divorced her husband after he announced his intentions of taking a second wife because a dream-interpreter told him to.