Personal Status Laws
Maintenance
Financial support is determined according to the national laws of the liable party. In Sudan, a valid marriage contract legally entitles a wife to matrimonial maintenance. At the husband's expense, she must be provided with food, clothing, housing, toilet necessities, medical needs and the number of servants warranted by her social position.
Under Sudanese law, a father is also required to support his children. For a son, maintenance is mandatory until the child is capable of self-support; for a daughter, until she is married. A wife is not required to provide any financial support to her family. (S. 81(3))
Sudanese law includes several provisions that bind men to their financial obligations and protect women's rights to matrimonial maintenance. For example, a man with known property who defaults on his financial obligations will receive a court order to resume payments. If he is insolvent, has no known property or refuses to disclose his means, the judge can order an immediate divorce. (S. 175) Marriage will resume if the husband pays maintenance during the iddat period. Absence resulting in failure to provide support will be met with a judicial order executed on the husband's property. (S. 180)