Lawyers have big files of sad stories in which women and children are usually victims. There are some cases where husbands are also victims. Because of the nature of the cases, the names have been changed. The lawyers we interviewed opened their files to us. We heard some very hard, sad and strange stories. Some of the cases are still in court.
The first case came from the office of the lawyer, Khaled Abu Rashed. He was acting for a divorced Saudi woman, Her family filed a lawsuit against the former husband dealing with custody of their two children, two boys, aged 8 and 6. The father refused to take the two boys from their mother and threatened to put them into social care if he had to take them. When the woman was asked why she had divorced him, she said, "Problems began after the birth of the second child and I had no choice but to get a divorce. I agreed not to ask for money if he gave me a divorce. The children have lived with me for the past few years but now, I can no longer take care of them. I cannot afford their medical expenses or pay for their clothes, school and transportation.
There is nobody to help me and I have no choice but to return the boys to their father." The father refused to attend the court sessions even though the judge insisted that he do so. The father threatened that he would not accept the two children and that he would put them into social care. Nonetheless, the judge ruled that the boys should be returned to their father and he should pay their expenses. The decision was final and there can be no appeal. The judge noted in his memorandum: "This is against the nature of animals. What about humans?"
The ‘Ugly’ Truth
One lawyer said, "One of the most unusual cases Saudi courts have to deal with is a woman wanting a divorce because her husband is ugly — I mean, not handsome." One of the women said, "I had to ask for a divorce from my husband. I could not bear the way he looked. I suffered when I lived with him. He never beat me; he was very generous and kind. He never hesitated to give me what I needed.
The problem is that I come from a traditional family and I did not see my husband until after we were married. If I had seen him before, I would never have agreed to marry him. The first time I saw him was after the wedding. Despite his beautiful clothes, he was very ugly. I was shocked and cried a lot. When he wanted to know why I was crying,
I lied and said that I missed my mother and family. As the days passed, I realized that he was very nice and kind. I tried to love him but I could not. I was afraid that my children would look like him. I began making excuses and starting fights with him but I could not tell him that I found him ugly. Finally, I got the courage to ask for a divorce. He was patient but his family was not and they eventually hated me. I created problems with him until he finally hated me and divorced me. I did not want to hurt his feelings and tell him that he was ugly. I could not cheat myself and live with someone that I do not love. Divorce was the only solution."
A Game of Monopoly
A woman lawyer talked about some strange cases. "My client was very rich but uneducated. His wife was planning to steal his money because he was married to another woman and she was afraid that she might take his money from her so she had to trick him. She asked her to teach his father how to play Monopoly. She told her son to make the father write real checks instead of fake ones for the game.
He continued to play with the son, not realizing that he was losing real money. He did not realize that he had given his son a large amount of money. The son endorsed the checks to his mother and she cashed them. After the third check, the bank became suspicious and called the father to ask about the checks. The husband came to the bank and discovered the truth and was shocked. He denied that he had written real checks and said that he had been playing a game with his son. His wife went to court and sued her husband for the money. The court ruled in her favor because the law does not protect fools."
A Kidnapper on the Run
Another lawyer said, "A woman came to me to file a lawsuit against her husband for kidnapping her children. The problem started when she married her present husband after the death of her first husband. The new husband promised to take good care of her and her children. After she was married, she found that he was not a religious person as he never prayed or fast. He asked her to return the child from her first marriage to her family and even went so far as to beat her and swear at her in front of the child. She could not endure such treatment so she went to the court to ask for a divorce. She was given a divorce and custody of all four children. After a few months, the husband asked to see the children and she agreed. He did not return them and disappeared with them for 2 years. She was frantic but could not find them. Finally, the man decided to marry again and sent the children back to her. She found them in a terrible psychological condition. She kept them for the next six years and then last year, just before Ramadan, he came to her asking for money. She refused and he then went to the children's school and took them a second time and disappeared. She reported the kidnapping to the authorities and sued him. The police are still looking for him."