Oh coffee. It’s the morning pick me up that so many of us not only love, but need. It replenishes the batteries and motivates us to prepare for the gruelling day head. For a lot of people it’s the first ritual performed in the morning, with its sweet aroma filling the air, and some will say that they simply cannot live without it. But would you divorce over coffee like they did in Arabia hundreds of years ago?
There was once a law in parts Arabia that allowed divorce over coffee, of all things. It wasn’t actually a couple sitting down having a cup of their favorite drink while they sorted out their marital affairs, but a real reason to part ways. While it wasn’t necessarily an Arabian law or custom, it was permitted in Turkey, a predominantly Arab country. Furthermore, it wasn’t the men who could instigate the divorce, it was the wife.
Why were women able to divorce over coffee in Arabia (Turkey)?
How much do you like your coffee? Would you seek a legal divorce if you were deprived, for one reason or another, if you couldn’t have at least your morning cup? Hundreds of years ago in Turkey (the country, not the bird) it was legal grounds for divorce if a husband didn’t supply his wife with coffee. Today it would be practically impossible to seek a divorce on such grounds, but back then coffee was an integral part of daily life. Coffee was deemed so important that it was regarded as an absolute necessity in the country. If a husband failed to provide his wife with enough coffee she had perfectly legal grounds in which to seek a divorce.
While we’re not sure exactly how many women in Arabia got a divorce for coffee, one could imagine that the actual numbers would not have been that high. For starters, a single woman, or even a divorced woman would have found life incredibly difficult in a male dominated world.
Would you go to this extent for coffee? Tell us your thoughts below.
