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Palestinian Women Hope To Gain Divorce Rights

Activists are pushing for Gaza to join the West Bank in an initiative that will allow women to divorce without their husbands' permission.

A woman is seen through a fabric sheet as she walks past a rally calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, in Gaza City September 2, 2013.  REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX134LM
A woman is seen through a fabric sheet as she walks past a rally calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, in Gaza City Sept. 2, 2013. — REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

The Supreme Religious Court in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip is considering legal amendments allowing women to divorce their husbands when they can show proof that their married life cannot go on.

The proposed amendment derives from a more moderate interpretation of Islam and is likely to face opposition by hard-line lawmakers from Hamas, the Islamic movement that runs the Palestinian enclave separately from the West Bank, which is ruled by President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah party.

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