The man, who is a retired government employee and currently working as a guard in a private company, has discarded the woman and her two daughters, who are now staying in south Jeddah.

A volunteer who distributes food among the poor informed the society about the woman and her daughters.

The woman, who was born in the Kingdom, holds the marriage contract with the Saudi man. She said she was afraid of approaching the court for her rights fearing that she would be deported from the Kingdom to Chad, which she had never seen in her life.

Maatouq Al-Sharief, a member of the society who has been following the case, explained to the woman how to approach the court. He also contacted some lawyers to assist the woman and put pressure on her Saudi husband to support his daughters.

Al-Sharief said the Saudi should help his daughters by proving their identity in order for them to receive free school and university education and services provided by the Social Affairs Ministry.

Dr. Hussein Al-Sharief, director of the society’s Jeddah office, welcomed a recent decision taken by the Justice Ministry to establish a fund to support children of divorced parents.

“This is an important step taken by the ministry. We receive a lot of cases related to payment of expenses of divorced women and their children,” he said.

He said the court should take appropriate decisions on issues related to expenses and taking care of children before giving ruling on divorce. “It will alleviate the suffering of many women and children.”

Around 60 percent of divorce cases in the Kingdom usually occur in the first year of marriage, according to a recent study conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The study revealed that approximately 80 percent of children kept at juvenile detention centers for crimes were the victims of divorces and family disputes.

The divorce rate in the last couple of decades has increased from 19 to 31 percent, said the study. Social analysts attribute the main reason for divorce to the unnecessary intervention of the families of brides and grooms. Other major reasons for divorce are cultural mismatch and financial imbalance.