The Saudi cultural attaché in Washington has warned against the trend of Saudi women accompanying their husbands on scholarships in the US and approaching the American judiciary to solve their family problems.

The observation came at a meeting organized by the cultural attaché and attended by representative of 36 student clubs.

Nora Al-Nafesah, a psychiatrist working with the Saudi Embassy, stressed the importance of communicating with the attaché in the event of family disputes before seeking the help of the American judiciary.

“Some cases go very far and get complicated to a degree where both the husband and wife are denied custody of their children,” said Al-Nafesah.

She said a new group of psychiatrists working for the embassy would help students on scholarship and their companions solve problems online. “The department here has expanded and recruited social consultants, psychiatrists and lawyers. The embassy will also bear the cost of criminal lawsuits which, of course, do not involve traffic violations,” she said.

Speaking on the issue of housing students in times of natural disasters, emergency committee member Saad Al-Thaqeb said: “Any evacuation case should be in line with the local authorities’ announcement. In such cases, the embassy will compensate the student for his or her losses.”

On the issue of medical insurance, Musaid Assaf, assistant cultural attaché for technical affairs, said that students should make sure the doctors they are referred to are listed in the medical coverage of the embassy. He warned against illegal methods of using medical insurance.