Denmohor (Dower) & Maintenance in Bangladesh: Your Rights and How to Claim

In this guide: Dower is a debt · Maintenance of a wife · Maintenance of children · How a claim is made · Time limits

The short answer

Denmohor (dower) is fixed in the kabinnama and is owed to the wife. It does not lapse because the marriage ended, because years passed, or because the wife asked for the divorce. Maintenance is a separate duty: a husband must maintain his wife during the marriage and during the iddat period after divorce, and a father must maintain his children whoever has custody. Both claims are made in the Family Court.

Dower is a debt

Prompt and deferred

Dower is usually split in the kabinnama. Prompt dower (muajjal) is payable on demand at any time during the marriage. Deferred dower (muwajjal) falls due when the marriage ends, by divorce or death. If the kabinnama does not say how it is split, section 10 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance treats the whole dower as payable on demand.

What counts as paid

Many kabinnamas record part of the dower as “paid in ornaments”. If that entry is true, that part is paid. If it is not true, the wife can dispute it, but the burden of proving it false falls on her, so read the kabinnama before signing it.

After the husband’s death

Unpaid dower is a debt of the husband’s estate and is paid before the heirs divide the property. The widow also takes her inheritance share on top of it.

Maintenance of a wife

A husband must maintain his wife during the marriage: food, clothing, a home and medical care in line with his means. If he fails, she can apply to the Chairman under section 9 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance for a maintenance certificate, or sue in the Family Court. Past maintenance for a period of default can be claimed, so do not assume unpaid months are lost.

After divorce, the husband must maintain the wife during iddat, normally three months, or until delivery if she is pregnant. The Appellate Division in Hefzur Rahman v Shamsun Nahar Begum (51 DLR (AD) 172) held that there is no claim to maintenance after iddat. Anyone promising you lifetime maintenance from an ex-husband is wrong.

Maintenance of children

A father must maintain his children whoever has custody: food, clothing, a home, schooling and medical care. The duty lasts for a son until he can support himself and for a daughter until she marries. Custody and maintenance are decided separately. A father cannot lawfully stop paying because he lost a custody dispute, and a mother cannot lawfully deny contact because maintenance is late. Both are matters for the court.

How a claim is made

• Written demand first. Send a demand for the dower or maintenance, by registered post or through a lawyer. It fixes a date and is often enough.
• Mediation. In districts where mandatory pre-case mediation is in force, the claim goes first to the District Legal Aid Office.
• Family Court. A suit for dower and maintenance is filed in the Family Court, usually where the wife lives. The court tries to reconcile the parties before trial and after it, and many claims settle there. A contested claim commonly takes several months to about a year.
• Enforcement. A decree can be enforced against the husband’s property and salary, and the court can allow payment in instalments. Failure to pay a maintenance decree can lead to detention.

Time limits

Under the Limitation Act 1908, a claim for prompt dower must be brought within three years of the date it was demanded and refused. A claim for deferred dower must be brought within three years of the marriage ending by death or divorce. Many women assume they are out of time when they are not, because the clock for deferred dower only starts at the end of the marriage. Others wait too long after divorce. If your divorce is more than two years old, take advice now.