Some of them say they have to wait for hours in the lounges before they get their turn.

While sitting in the lounge of Alkhobar Shariah court, 29-year old Muneera told Al-Watan daily that she was a broken woman due to her harrowing experiences both at home and at court.

“I approached the court after I was driven out of the house by my husband. I approached the court after spending about six months at my father’s house. When I filed a petition, I was shocked to learn that my husband had already approached the court with a complaint that I was disobedient to him,” she said, adding that the court ruled against her.

“The court directed me to go and continue living with my husband,” she said, expressing her anger because the court did not listen to her grievances. She is now appealing against the verdict.

Ummu Zahir, a divorcee, says that the ordeal of sitting for hours in the lounge of a Dammam court started one year ago. She has been waging a legal battle for custody of her children and was waiting with her father and brother.

She later appeared in front of the judge and returned after 10 minutes, visibly upset. “It was surprising to see such judges behaving toward people in this way,” she told Al-Watan.

“When my brother appealed to him to allow me to take custody of the children, the judge was rude. He ordered the court security staff to drive us out of the courtroom without any justification.”

Ummu Zahir claimed that she used to arrive in court 10 minutes before court proceedings were scheduled to start.

“Even when I arrived for my appointment time of 8.30 a.m., I still had to wait until 11 a.m.,” she said.

She added that once she arrived at the court, she was told to come after three weeks because the judge was on vacation.

“When I came to the court again, the judge refused to take up the case. This prompted me to approach another judge,” she said.

Fatima, another divorcee, had another traumatic story to tell.

“When I approached the court seeking permission to bring my sick mother home from an Arab country, the judge gave me a date to return after two months. When I returned, I was asked to produce the document to prove that I was still not married in addition to an inheritance deed, as well as two witnesses,” she said.

Another Saudi woman was noticed by Al-Watan shivering with fury when she came out of the courtroom. When she eventually calmed down, she began to tell her story.

“I have been in and out of court for one year seeking a divorce from my husband, who announced his intention to leave me six years ago,” she said.

“Whenever I go to court, the judge fixes another date, usually after three months, for the hearing. There is no justification for this. When my husband approached the court seeking custody of my children five years ago, a verdict was reached within one and a half months.”

Dr. Saad Al-Wohaibi, a lawyer and legal consultant, claimed that there was a major reason for the unnecessary delay of cases involving women.

He said some judges fail to realize the nature of women and often find fault with the way they present their cases.

“Some women lack proper understanding and awareness about court proceedings, cases, judges and the like. And these result in an unnecessary delay of court proceedings,” he added.

Fawziya Al-Oyouni, a woman rights activist, said that every woman client must be given legal support to present her argument in the strongest way possible. She also stressed the need for setting up family courts to deal with more sensitive cases.