Does Islamic law grant the wife the right to divorce just as it grants it to the man? Is the term "house of obedience" and forcing a wife to remain in a marriage she does not desire part of Islam? What is the Shariah ruling on Khul' (a wife's right to seek divorce)?

The Sharia made divorce in the hands of men for profound reasons, among them: the prevalence of emotion over women, a man's ability to control his impulses and exercise reason, and the fact that the man bears the greater burden in marriage.

A woman has the right to request divorce when there is harm affecting her in her religious or worldly affairs, and she has the right to khul‘ (divorce at the wife's instance) if she dislikes her husband without a material reason. It is recommended for the husband to grant her request, and some scholars have gone so far as to say it is obligatory for him to do so.

The term "house of obedience" (beit al-taa’a) is not mentioned in the Sharia; it is a man-made law that many contemporary scholars have denounced, as it involves injustice towards women.