In this article, we take a look at 20 countries where you can go to jail for adultery, and discuss laws that are in place in some parts of the world that penalize unfaithful spouses.
Many notable countries over the last couple of decades have struck down adultery laws over the notion that they discriminate against women. India’s top court in 2018 ruled that adultery was no longer a criminal offense, and ended the century-old law under Section 497 of IPC, that punished offenders with jail time. The five-member bench unanimously declared the law unconstitutional, and being against the sexual autonomy of women.
This was followed by Taiwan in 2020, where the country’s constitutional court struck down the law, which had been in practice for 85 years, and had made adultery a crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison. The decision was hailed by women rights activists in the island nation as a victory for gender equality. Taiwan’s chief justice, Hsu Tzong-li, in a press conference after the ruling stated that while adultery violated promise and trust in a marital relationship, it did not harm public interest, and that the law criminalizing the act was an invasion of personal privacy.
Other countries to have struck down adultery laws in recent years include Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Denmark, Japan, France, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Bermuda, and Seychelles. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) states that while adultery may be considered as cheating, making it a matrimonial offense, countries should not regard it as a criminal offense and hand out strict punishments like fines, imprisonment, or even death.
Adultery Laws in the United States
According to a recent report in Newsweek, there are 16 states in the United States where it is illegal to cheat on your wife. The act is considered a felony in the states of Oklahoma, Michigan, and Wisconsin, while it is classified as a misdemeanor in Arizona, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, Illinois, New York, Florida, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
You can be sent to jail in Michigan for up to five years along with a fine of $5,000 for adultery as per the state’s penal code, while in Oklahoma, the punishment is a maximum of five years or/and a fine of $500. Moreover, in Wisconsin, the jail sentence for adultery is a maximum of three and a half years, whereas the fine can go as high as $10,000. Punishment for adultery is the strictest in these states of the US.
In the state of New York, adultery is classified in law as a class B misdemeanor, and you can land in jail for a period of up to 90 days and can be handed a fine of $500 if found guilty of indulging in sexual intercourse with a person other than your spouse. However, adultery may soon become legal in New York, as state legislators work on a bill to repeal the century-old law, which has been seldom used. Since 1972, only around a dozen individuals have been charged under the law in New York, and of them just five were convicted.
If the bill does go through, New York will join a handful of other states that have struck down adultery laws in recent years in the United States, such as Minnesota (2023), Idaho (2022), Utah (2019), and Massachusetts (2018).
With that said, let’s now shift focus on countries where you can go to jail for adultery, including some where you can even be sentenced to death. By the way, if interested, you can also take a look at our recent articles on 25 Most Unfaithful Countries in the World and 15 Countries With Most Unfaithful Husbands In The World.
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Methodology
Countries where you can go to jail for adultery are ranked in order of the severity of punishment in these countries for the offense. Information for this article has been sourced from laws and criminal codes of countries, as well as credible news publications, including Business Insider, Business Standard, and The Week.
20 Countries Where You Can Go To Jail For Adultery:
20. Nepal
Punishment: One to two months jail, plus fine
Nepal is among countries where you can go to jail for adultery, with the punishment ranging from an imprisonment sentence of one to two months, along with a fine depending on the discretion of the court.
19. Uganda
Punishment: 6-12 months, plus a fine
Adultery is considered a serious crime in Uganda under Section 154 (1) of the penal, with punishments ranging from a maximum of 12 months for men, while six months for women. The law was nullified by the government in 2007, but despite that, it remains part of the constitution.
18. Rwanda
Punishment: 6-12 months, plus a fine
You can go to jail and be fined up to 200,000 Rwandan francs, equivalent to around $150, if you have sexual intercourse with another person while being married. The duration of imprisonment varies between six to twelve months, but can be further increased by two years if you have been found to be living with another person.
17. Indonesia
Punishment: 12 months in jail and 6 months of cohabitation
Next on our list of countries where you can go to jail for adultery is Indonesia, where the government only recently in 2022 criminalized the act and made it a punishable offense. According to the new law, married offenders can be sent to jail for up to a year and face six months of cohabitation if they have sex outside of marriage.
16. Republic of the Congo
Punishment: Jail and fine, varying by gender
Next up is the Republic of Congo, where extramarital relations are punishable by law, but whether or not you go to jail for adultery depends on your gender. If a woman commits adultery, she will face a jail time of between three months to two years, while men who have been found guilty of the offense can get away with by only paying a fine, which is generally between 100-2000 Congolese Franc (which is less than $1!)
15. Morocco
Punishment: One to two years of jail
Morocco is among countries where you can go to jail for adultery, with the duration of imprisonment ranging from between one to two years for both men and women found guilty of cheating their spouse by indulging in sexual intercourse with another person. However, according to Article 491 of the country’s laws, cases of adultery can only be prosecuted if a complaint has been filed by one spouse against another.
14. Algeria
Punishment: One to two years of jail
Adultery is a criminal offense in Algeria. Under Section 339 of the Algerian Penal Code, married men and women who have been found guilty of having sex with a person other than their house can face jail time of between one to two years.
13. Egypt
Punishment: 6-24 months, varies by gender
Adultery is a criminal offense in Egypt under sections 237, 273, 274, 275, 276, and 277 of the Penal Code. However, punishments vary based on gender. A man whose adultery has been established can be punished for a maximum of six months, whereas women who have been found guilty serve jail for up to two years.
12. United Arab Emirates
Punishment: Up to three years in prison and/or deportation
The United Arab Emirates is a popular tourist destination and an international financial center attracting expatriates from around the world with lucrative salaries. However, those moving or traveling to the country must be aware of the laws, and ensure that they don’t find themselves on the wrong side. The country has strict laws related to adultery, that can land you a jail time of up to three years. Moreover, individuals that are not Emirati nationals also face the risk of deportation if they have been proven guilty of the offense.
11. Philippines
Punishment: 2 years and four months to 6 years
Having sexual intercourse with a person other than your spouse is punishable in the Philippines, and could land you and the individual you have cheated with in jail. Sentence serving time ranges between two years and four months to six years.
10. Qatar
Punishment: Jail for up to 15 years
Adultery is a punishable offense in Qatar under Sections 281, 282, and 285 of the Penal Code. Individuals who engage in sex outside of marriage, or have sexual intercourse with a person they are not married to, can be punished and sent to jail for seven years in some cases, and up to 15 years at the maximum.
9. Pakistan
Punishment: Jail to death sentence
Adultery is a crime in Pakistan, where you can go to jail for up to five years, and even be sentenced to death. However, such punishments have rarely been handed out in the country, and the Protection of Women Act passed by the military government of Pervez Musharraf in 2006 brought further leniency in its enforcement.
8. Maldives
Punishment: Flogging, stoning, death sentence
Maldives is an island nation on the Indian Ocean that is popular for its pristine beaches, but also remains in the news for its strict laws. Adultery is a capital offense in the country and offenders can by law be sentenced to death by stoning. There have been two instances of individuals being sentenced to death by stoning in Maldives in the last decade, but both verdicts were quashed by the higher courts.
7. Nigeria
Punishment: Jail up to two years, plus fine, and stoning in some instances
Adultery is considered as a crime in the northern states of Nigeria under the region’s penal code that criminalizes sex outside of marriage. Punishments range from a jail period of up to two years and/or a fine for the act committed. There have also been instances of Islamic courts sentencing those convicted to death by stoning.
6. Somalia
Punishment: Stoning to death
Large parts of Somalia are under the control of Al Shabab, where the militant group operates its own courts and hands out punishments for crimes committed. Adultery is classified as a capital offense in regions controlled by Al Shabab, with regular reported incidents of adulterers being stoned to death.
5. Brunei
Punishment: Stoning to death
Brunei had for years abstained from the death penalty, but in 2019 implemented a strict law that made adultery a criminal offense, punishable by stoning to death. The punishment has so far not been practiced in the country, however.
4. Saudi Arabia
Punishment: Flogging, death sentence
Courts in Saudi Arabia have routinely ordered public flogging of adulterers, and in some cases have also sentenced individuals to death by stoning. However, the death penalty has very rarely been enforced for adultery, and most cases of executions in the country are related to drug trafficking and murder.
3. Iran
Punishment: Flogging for unmarried people, death sentence for married individuals
Iran hands out strict punishment to those who have been found guilty of adultery. In November 2023, a female gym trainer was sentenced to death by an Iranian court after a case filed by her husband in which she was accused of having a sexual relationship with another man.
2. Sudan
Punishment: Lashes, stoning to death
Adultery is a capital offense in Sudan, where strict punishments are routinely carried out to offenders found guilty of adultery. The act is punishable by 100 lashes for unmarried individuals, while married offenders are stoned to death. In a recent example of the exercise of this law, a woman was sentenced to death by stoning in the country in 2022.
1. Afghanistan
Punishment: Stoning to death
Afghanistan is on top spot for the strictest punishment for adultery, where the Taliban led government recently reiterated its stance of flogging and stoning offenders to death in the country. The Afghan Penal Code under the previous regimes of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani included a ‘long imprisonment’ as punishment for the act.
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