JEDDAH: A Saudi father in the northern town of Gurayat has denied his eight-year-old son, Muhammad, a birth certificate, Al-Madinah Arabic daily reported yesterday. The boy’s mother, who is a teacher, has been trying to get school admission for the child but his father has refused to cooperate. All Saudi children must have birth certificates to be eligible for an education.
Ibrahim Al-Jasser, chief judge at the Shariah Court in Gurayat, blamed Um Muhammad for the delay in settling of her case. He said Ahmed Al-Moussa, a judge at the court, would look into her case to give a verdict.
Um Muhammad said her life with her ex-husband was going well since marrying nine years ago, until she became pregnant.
“When he knew that I was pregnant, he asked me to abort the baby. When I refused to comply with his demand he divorced me,” the mother said.
Her son was born five months after the divorce.
“The boy was registered in the name of his father but he did not come to the Health Department to get the birth certificate,” she said.
Um Muhammad said all schools have refused admission to her son citing absence of birth certificate.
“My former husband’s intransigent attitude has forced me to approach the court. But at the court he denied having any child and I asked for a DNA test to prove the child belongs to him,” she told the daily.
The man then told the court that if the test proved that the child belonged to him, he would claim custody of the child and not allow his mother visitation rights.
Adding to the delay in settling the issue: the judge in the dispute was transferred out of the jurisdiction before he was able to give a final ruling.
