Women could divorce their husbands
There are many people who confuse Muslim and Indian
customs with the laws of God and Biblical civilization. That's why they
think, say, and even preach, that in the times of Christ women were just a step
above a slave. The fact that Muslims also live in the
These people who confuse Biblical culture with Muslim culture, also say that a man could divorce his wife, but a woman couldn't divorce her husband. However, this is not true. This error is the fruit of reading books about the Bible and not the Bible itself; or reading just some verses, passages or books of the Bible and not the whole thing. In this very web page article # 14 clarifies another error regarding Biblical customs and the position of women in that time's culture, among God's people. Let's see what the Bible says.
"And he saith unto them: Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery." ( Mark 10: 11-12 )
In this passage we see that according to the word of Jesus, a woman had the right to divorce her husband, a right which is denied for those who read lots and lots of books "about the Bible", and not the Bible itself.
The Bible writers of the Bible spoke in a general way, they didn't specify sex unnecessarily. In those times they said things such as: "If a man steals…", which also implied "If a woman steals…". It was not necessary to mention both sexes, as they tend to do now a day, for fear of being called sexist or chauvinist. That's why in the Old Testament they have rules about divorce, and even though they only mention men, it is understood that it also refers to women. Therefore, as a man could divorce his wife, a woman could divorce her husband. The proof is found in what our Lord says. Referring to what the law ruled, he mentioned that a woman could divorce her husband. So, evidently, women could divorce their husbands.
The same thing is said by Paul in I Co 7: 13, where he advises Christian women who are already married to a non Christian man, not to divorce them, but keep their marriage united.
"And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him." ( I Co 7: 13 )
According to these two testimonies, it is evident that women had the right to divorce their husbands. Consequently, those who paint a ghastly picture about women's lives in Biblical times, are disoriented by confusing Biblical culture with Muslim culture. They confuse the Godly authority of a husband in marriage, with a total absence of women's rights. They also confuse some cultures that despise and take out all rights from women, with the culture that comes out of the Law of God, which bestows on women all the rights inherent to a human being.