BAHRAINI DIVORCEE HIGHLIGHTS DIVORCE PLIGHT OF WOMEN
Getting divorced in the Shari’a courts is the most difficult process for women in Bahrain, a Bahraini human rights activist said.
“In many cases, women have to give up their houses and the custody of their children just to get the divorce,” said Nabeel Rajab, vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).
The case of a young woman in Bahrain facing an ugly divorce process has set off a public campaign urging the government to increase legal and physical protection of women who wish to end their marriages legally.
BAHRAINI DIVORCEE HIGHLIGHTS DIVORCE PLIGHT OF WOMEN
Getting divorced in the Shari’a courts is the most difficult process for women in Bahrain, a Bahraini human rights activist said.
“In many cases, women have to give up their houses and the custody of their children just to get the divorce,” said Nabeel Rajab, vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).
The case of a young woman in Bahrain facing an ugly divorce process has set off a public campaign urging the government to increase legal and physical protection of women who wish to end their marriages legally.
The story of Su’ad Fathallah hit the headlines last November when she talked about her harrowing divorce experience in an interview with the American Al-Hurra satellite channel.
During the course of the interview she spoke about problems she faced in getting divorced and criticized the Bahraini courts and authorities.
Since then, Fathallah has received numerous death threats, mostly over the phone and through SMS messages.
She is facing defamation charges and she risks losing custody of her children.
“I received a phone call asking which cemetery I wanted to be buried in, Manama or Muharrak,” she told The Media Line. “I got threatening messages saying my days were numbered.”
Fathallah, who is originally from the United Arab Emirates, was married in 1993 at the age of 16, but the marriage ended 10 years later. Her husband, a policeman, was an abusive drunk, she said.
Fathallah complained to the police after her husband threatened her with a weapon last year, but the police did nothing, she said.
The BCHR has taken on her case and is using it as leverage to demand a family status law that will deal with these cases and protect women in Fathallah’s situation.
It is also demanding the government drop defamation charges against Fathallah, ensure her children remain in her custody and deal with her ex-husband who has so far acted with impunity.
In many cases where the woman wants a divorce and the man does not, the divorce process will drag on for years, Rajab said. Men often remarry or take a new partner while the woman waits years for the divorce to come through.
It has also become common practice for husbands to taint the reputation of the women by labeling them promiscuous. The men can then get custody of the children, claiming the former wives cannot be good mothers, Rajab explained.
The unusual element of Fathallah’s case is that she made it public.
“Su’ad was brave enough to come out and speak on TV,” Rajab said. “Many women will not speak out because of the culture and the society. They just keep quiet and let it go.”
The Bahraini media has given Fathallah’s case little coverage, since much of the media is either government-run or prefers to stay away from sensitive subjects so as not to ruffle the authorities’ feathers, Rajab said.
The organization’s website has reported on the case extensively, but the site is blocked to Internet users in Bahrain.
The Media Line asked the Bahraini government for a reaction, but received no response by time of publication.
By Rachelle Kliger on Sunday, January 28, 2007
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=16535
