On their honeymoon in Jordan, a couple’s happiness turned to tragedy when Aisha, the twenty-year-old bride, disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The Jordanian police were called in and are still searching for Aisha. Six weeks have passed with no sign of her. No one has any idea what happened to her. Aisha’s family came from Tabuk to look for her, and her mother is so upset that those close to her fear for her sanity. The family has offered a reward for anyone who can provide information about Aisha’s whereabouts.
They have also thanked the hundreds of Jordanians who have assisted in the search for Aisha. Suleiman, her brother, who has been in Amman for sixteen days, says that Aisha left the apartment carrying gold and money. He says they begin their search every day in the morning and continue until midnight — but there has been no sign of Aisha. As for the reasons behind her disappearance, Suleiman insists that there was no marital discord and her husband has no idea why she left and has not come back. Suleiman adds that the efforts of the Jordanian police have been exceptional and “while we appreciate all their hard work, we hope they will do even more to find my sister, especially since we believe she is still in Amman”. A Saudi security officer from the Kingdom’s embassy in Jordan has been instructed to follow the case closely and Aisha’s family is in touch with him daily.
Her father spoke to us by phone, and it was clear that he was distressed at his daughter’s disappearance. “I am overwhelmed with sadness. I don’t know the fate of my daughter or where she is. It has been more than twenty days since she disappeared; none of us can eat or sleep. Her mother is in a terrible state. Every day we search and with every day that passes with no news of Aisha, our pain and sadness increase.”
Sayidaty tried to talk to Aisha’s husband but we were told that he would not speak to anyone. We got in touch with the Saudi ambassador who said that the Jordanian police and the Saudi Embassy were doing all they could to bring things to a conclusion. The ambassador says that there is no evidence that she has been kidnapped; her husband stated that she left of her own free will, carrying her passport. It is not likely that she has returned to Saudi Arabia; in that case border security would have alerted her family. All the information leads them to believe that she is still in Jordan.
A close friend of the family told Sayidaty that Aisha agreed to marry Abdullah and expressed great happiness on her wedding night but that she became hysterical whenever he got close to her during the first few days of marriage. “She is generally a quiet, conservative girl. She married her 27-year-old cousin who is also quiet and careful of his religious duties. The couple traveled to Jordan on their honeymoon and she disappeared on the very day they arrived.”
The friend added that Aisha has suffered from depression but was treated several years ago in hospitals in Saudi Arabia and that she hadn’t taken medicine for more than three years. After their marriage her husband complained that Aisha became hysterical whenever he approached her. Her family suggested that he consult doctors and sheikhs for treatment, and on hearing from friends of a good Jordanian doctor, he decided to travel there with his wife.
As for the circumstances surrounding Aisha’s disappearance, the family friend said that the couple arrived in Jordan on Sept. 8. An hour later, while Abdullah was in the bathroom, Aisha left the building in a taxi; she took with her an unknown amount of money, gold jewelry estimated to be worth SR15,000 and her passport. Her husband informed the police in the district — Al-Shumaysani — where they were staying of his wife’s disappearance, and he then contacted her family who came from Tabuk to help in the search. The friend feels that her disappearance is probably due to her illness, that she is a highly moral person and so did not run away with another person.
In Jordan we heard a slightly different story. The Shumaysani police refused to give any information and transferred our questions to the main police station, which also refused, for legal reasons, to give out any information. What we were able to piece together is that Aisha may be in a Jordanian hospital for mental illness, that she has not left the country and that her name is known at all Jordanian border posts. She did indeed have some money with her as well as her passport and jewelry. Whatever her intention, it seems to be known to her alone. Nobody has any idea exactly where she is
We heard from an anonymous police source that preliminary investigations showed that the girl disappeared within hours of arriving in Jordan, leaving her apartment in the Shumaysani district of Amman. She left behind a letter saying that she no longer wished to be married and that she felt no love for her husband. She wished him a happy life with a better woman than her and entreated him not to tell her family and create a scandal.