JEDDAH: Riyadh and the Eastern Province topped the list of lawsuits related to marriages without prior consent of the female during the first half of this year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Justice.

The statistics include other civil cases mostly concerning divorce, marriage contracts, alimony and child custody.

This year witnessed a new category of cases under the name “marriage without consent.” The number of cases in this category in EP amounted to only two cases, or 28.6 percent of the total. Riyadh came second, followed by Qassim and Makkah with one case each.

Last year, Riyadh led in terms of this category of cases with five cases, or 83.3 percent, followed by Makkah with one case, or 16.7 percent. The other regions of the country did not record any cases in this category.

In 1434 Makkah led in terms of cases of marriage without consent with four cases, with only one case in Riyadh. The other regions did not record any of this type of case.

The majority of cases registered in Riyadh involved divorce, alimony and child custody. Makkah also topped the other regions of the Kingdom in Adal cases, where the guardian, either the father, uncle or brother, refused to give the female for marriage, followed by Riyadh, Al-Sharqiyah and Qassim.

Lawyers and legal experts said the cases of marriage without consent are among the new cases seen by Saudi courts. “This is proof and concrete evidence that Saudi women are now aware of their rights. But males, nonetheless, suffer more than the females in this regard.”

Speaking to a local publication lawyer Salim Al-Muhaimed said the reasons for cases of marriage without consent are traced to family strictness, among relatives in particular.