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A Woman in Bihar Wants to Divorce Her Husband Because He Stinks

A 20-year-old in Patna is filing for divorce because she claims she is sick of her husband not bathing, shaving and brushing his teeth regularly.
Shamani Joshi
Mumbai, IN
Bihar woman wants to divorce husband because he stinks

We’ve probably all had those lazy days we’ve spent lying around in bed without even bothering to pry open the curtains as we binge-watched the ninth season of a show, ignoring the fact that our unshowered selves probably let out some funky smell interspersed with the whiff of chips whose crumbs lay all over us. But while messy behaviour may be tolerated every now and then, one woman got so fed up with her husband not bathing, shaving or brushing his teeth regularly that she filed for a divorce.

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Soni Devi, a 20-year-old woman from the Vaishali district in the city of Patna in Bihar, married Manish, a plumber, in 2017. However, she now says she is filing for divorce because she claims his lack of hygiene and etiquette are “ruining her life”. According to The Times of India, Devi approached the State Women’s Commission (SWC) with a petition seeking to separate from her husband because he smells really bad. While SWC member Pratima Soni reported that she was initially taken aback by her “silly reasons”, the commission reached out to the 23-year-old husband asking him to mend his actions in two months or face the consequences.

While Manish has agreed to change his ways and wants to continue living with his wife, Devi has also asked for all the jewellery given to him and his family as part of the dowry before marriage to be rightfully returned to her.

Maybe this shouldn’t even come as a shock considering couples have filed for divorce for things like their partner “being too kind,” but hey, you know what they say: (s)he who smelt it dealt it.

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