JEDDAH: The courts have registered marriages of 394 Filipino women without their wali (parents or guardians). A “judge” was their guardian instead of fathers or relatives. The latest Justice Ministry statistics have revealed.
This happened despite the law that says the guardian is a must for a woman’s marriage. If she does not have a guardian or the guardian refuses to show up, then the judge can allow them to be married.
Out of total 517 women who were married under the guardianship of a judge last year, Filipino women formed the largest segment. There were just 16 Saudi women, of which three were married to Filipino men, three to Syrians, three to Egyptians, one to a Jordanian, one to an Indian, one to an American and one to a Yemeni.
The court declared 4,983 marriages null and void last year. The reasons were bad marital relationships, disappearance of the husband for a long time, imprisonment of any of the partners among others. The largest number of divorces was among Saudi couples — 4,425.
When judge becomes ‘wali’ for Filipino brides
When judge becomes ‘wali’ for Filipino brides
