Marital captivity is a situation in which a woman in a religious marriage needs her husband’s permission to divorce him, but he refuses to cooperate. In these situations, a secular court may have dissolved the civil marriage, but the religious marriage continues to exist. As long as the wife is tied to her religious marriage, she is seriously hampered in her participation in society. Marital captivity often occurs jointly with other forms of both domestic and honor related violence.
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Important definitions
Forced marriage - someone is forced by their family to religiously or civily marry someone they don't want marry.
Marital obedience - the patriarchial expectation that women have to obey to their husbands.
Male guardianship - a system in some countries that requires women to have a male guardian, often a close family member or husband, who determines what she is and isn't allowed to do, i.e. working or travelling.
Marital exploitation - physical, mental, sexual or financial violence within a marriage.
Civil marriage - a marriage that is recognised as legal by the state
