Turkish Woman Divorces Husband Citing His Poor Hygiene Habits

A Turkish woman, known as A.Y. in local news, has taken legal action against her husband. She claimed that he doesn’t shower often, has a constant sweat odour, and brushes his teeth only once or twice a week. A.Y. is seeking a divorce, citing her husband’s poor hygiene as the main reason for the legal action.

In the 19th Family Court in Ankara, the lawyer for the plaintiff reported that the defendant regularly wore the same clothes for at least five days, rarely showered, and always smelled strongly of sweat. Witnesses, including mutual acquaintances and some of the husband’s colleagues, were called to validate these statements during the proceedings.

The witnesses confirmed that the defendant lacked proper personal hygiene. The court approved the woman’s divorce request and directed the husband to compensate her with 500,000 Turkish lira ($16,500) for enduring his inadequate personal hygiene throughout their marriage.

“Partners need to fulfil the responsibilities of their shared life,” stated Senem Yılmazel, the lawyer representing A.Y., in an interview with Turkish newspaper Sabah. Senem said, “If behaviour becomes intolerable in shared life, the affected party has the right to seek a divorce.”

Under Turkish civil law, divorce reasons are categorised into two groups: special reasons and general reasons. General reasons include factors that make life unbearable for either one or both parties.

The Regional Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of Appeals acknowledged the husband’s poor personal hygiene as a legitimate reason for divorce in this case. Their recent and final verdict firmly confirmed this decision.

As per court documents and witness accounts, C.Y. was reported to take showers at most once every 7-10 days and brushed his teeth only once or twice a week. As a consequence, his breath was described as unbearable.

Unexpectedly, many colleagues willingly testified in the case, confirming that the man’s smelly body odour had created a challenging work environment, which they described as unbearable.