In halakha, a husband has an obligation to sexually satisfy his wife — this is onah. The frequency is regulated according to the husband's profession.
A woman has the right to refuse. She has the right to demand a divorce if her husband does not fulfil it.
The obligation of onah is imposed directly on the husband. On the wife's side, there is no symmetrical obligation of the same kind, although persistent refusal of sexual relations is regulated separately and may have legal consequences.
But this is only the beginning.
- A husband cannot change to a worse profession without his wife's consent if the new profession reduces the frequency of onah. His professional career is legally subordinated to her sexual needs.
- In captivity, a woman is generally redeemed before a man because of the risk of rape. When both are threatened with sexual degradation — the man takes priority.
- A husband cannot force his wife to move from a city to a village or from a village to a city. Nor can he forcibly worsen her living conditions.
- The ketubah is a claim arising upon marriage and may take priority over later creditors.
- A widow has the right to live in her husband's home after his death. The heirs must maintain her at the same standard. A man has obligations toward his wife even after death.
- The more servants a wife brings into the marriage, the more household duties she is exempt from. Those duties are performed by the servants.
- “The gates of tears are never closed.” The Talmud particularly warns against harming one's wife, pointing out that her tears come easily and that punishment for harming her is near. Draw your own conclusion from this — who is closer to God?
- A husband cannot forbid his wife from visiting her parents for a prolonged period. Such a prohibition may lead to an obligation to divorce and pay the ketubah.
Together they create a legal architecture in which practically every dimension of a woman's comfort is codified as a man's obligation with the possibility of judicial enforcement.
This is not “respect your wife.” This is a system.