JEDDAH: The high court in Jeddah yesterday heard the case of a Saudi couple whose marriage was brought into question after the woman’s brothers filed a divorce petition on the basis of tribal incompatibility.
The husband, who asked his name not be published, said the judge attempted to convince him to agree to a divorce, but he refused. Arguing his case, the man told the judge that his wife’s sister had also married someone of a different Bedouin background. In response, the judge asked him to provide evidence of this.
A hearing has now been scheduled for next Monday.
The couple say the woman’s half brothers had agreed to the marriage but now deny that the marriage ever took place.
The woman said she moved in with her husband two weeks ago after her brothers attacked her and prevented her from staying with her mother and siblings in Madinah. She said a close relative helped her travel to Jeddah where her husband lives.
The woman’s brothers then complained to Madinah police that their sister had been kidnapped. Arab News has a copy of a police report that states that Jeddah police summoned the couple for questioning and that the woman had come to Jeddah at her own will to live with her husband after her half brothers prevented her from staying at their home.
The report also states that two of the woman’s half brothers attacked the couple in front of police officers and that police kept her at the station to protect her. She added that her half-brothers filed the case after she refused to hand them a power of attorney to manage real estate that she inherited from her father.
The woman said the judge suggested she ask for a khula (a mode of divorce in which a woman asks for separation under the condition that she returns the dowry she was paid), something that she is unwilling to do.
The woman, who is employed in the education sector, has stopped working after receiving death threats and is awaiting transfer to a location where she can work safely. When asked about her full brother, the woman said he was not supporting her.
The husband said he has sent letters to the Ministry of Justice and human rights groups, but has not received any response.
Abdullah Al-Sulami, the husband’s lawyer and a Ph.D. holder in Shariah, said compatibility in education, and social and financial background is important but is only considered before the signing of the marriage contract.
Al-Sulami called for a unifying judgment regarding this issue, adding that the public still lack awareness about divorces based on tribal incompatibility. When asked if some people would use tribal incompatibly for personal gains and as a tool in financial disputes, he said, “No doubt, this is the case.”
