Iran court orders 'stingy' husband to buy 124 000 rosesTehran, Iran -
03 March 2008
An Iranian court has ordered a man to buy his wife 124 000 roses after she filed a complaint against
her "stingy" husband to claim her dowry, a press report said on Monday.
"After 10 years of marriage Hengameh had decided to claim her dowry of 124 000 red roses to
punish her very stingy husband," the
Etemad newspaper said.
"Shortly after marriage, I realised that Shahin was very cheap. He even refused to pay for my
coffee if we went to a cafe or restaurant," said the woman, identified only by her first name,
Hengameh.
But Shahin told the court he could only afford five roses a day and complained that it was "her
billionaire friends who had put such ideas in her head".
The court has seized his apartment worth 600-million rials ($64 000) until he has bought her the
entire 124 000 roses. A long stemmed red rose costs 20 000 rials (about $2 in Tehran.
Under Iranian law, a woman can claim her dowry, or
mahr, which is a gift pledged by the man at the
time of marriage, at any time during married life or when getting a divorce.
It is common in Iran to offer gold coins or property as
mahr, and the number of gold coins (worth
about $260) could vary from 14 to even hundreds or thousands.
An Iranian man can end up in jail over dowry debts and there has been a judicial debate whether it
should be adjusted according to the man's financial status. -- AFP
M&G