Umma Bashir, a middle-aged housewife, on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, dragged her husband, Bashir Ibrahim, to a Sharia court ll at Magajin Gari, Kaduna State for renting out her bedroom without her knowledge.
The complainant told the court that her husband had provided two rooms for her and her two children but decided to rent out the bedroom without her consent,” Mrs. Bashir told the court.
“I returned home from an errand just to see my bedroom locked and belongings moved to the sitting room.
“When I confronted my husband, he told me that it was his room and he has the right to do whatever he wishes with it.”
Bashir, who had left for her parent’s house for five days, told the court that she won’t return to her matrimonial home until her husband provide good shelter for her.
She also disclosed that her two co-wives were living in a two bedroom apartment each with their children but she was left with one room to manage.
The defendant agreed to have rented the room out but denied his wife’s claim of not being informed.
He said “I informed her that I will rent out one of the rooms out to be able to renovate an apartment I am planning to relocate her to.”
Ibrahim added that he promised his wife that he would use the rent money he got from tenant to renovate the proposed apartment.
The judge, Musa Sa’ad, after listening to both parties, emphasised the importance of shelter in marriage.
He said it was the responsibility of the husband to provide shelter to the family, stressing that “it is Islamically wrong for husband and wife to live in one room with two teenagers.”
