‘Help us’ plea by custody row mothers
By REBECCA TORR
Published: 3rd June 2007
TWO Bahraini mothers claim they and their children are suffering at the hands of Sharia judges because there is no family law to protect them.
One of them claims she risks losing custody of her six-year-old daughter to a husband under whose care their child was allegedly sexually abused at the age of four.
Another claims she is being followed, harassed and threatened while she battles for custody of her children.
“All women are suffering, we don’t have rights,” the former, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the GDN yesterday.
‘Help us’ plea by custody row mothers
By REBECCA TORR
Published: 3rd June 2007
TWO Bahraini mothers claim they and their children are suffering at the hands of Sharia judges because there is no family law to protect them.
One of them claims she risks losing custody of her six-year-old daughter to a husband under whose care their child was allegedly sexually abused at the age of four.
Another claims she is being followed, harassed and threatened while she battles for custody of her children.
“All women are suffering, we don’t have rights,” the former, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the GDN yesterday.
The woman has been fighting for the custody of her daughter after divorce almost seven years ago.
She is worried because according to the divorce papers the child will be given to her father when she attains the age of seven.
“I don’t trust the judges. All judges are biased towards men and don’t care about the women or children.”
The mother, a computer specialist at a private company, got married in 1998 and divorced three years later shortly after the birth of their daughter.
Their short marriage was allegedly plagued with financial difficulties and restrictions. The father is employed at a ministry and provides the child with BD40 for food, clothing, school and medical expenses every month.
She said an independent medical examination by police officials at a child abuse unit concluded their daughter had been sexually abused. However, she claims the abuse occurred while the child was visiting her father’s family home and says she tried to warn him about it. She believes the abuser was the teenage nephew of her ex-husband.
Suspicions initially surfaced when their daughter acted strange and uncomfortable when her nappy was removed.
“The doctor examined her and said she had not been (raped), but asked me to be careful,” she said.
The child reportedly described the abuse by telling her mother that her cousin would lick her face and touch her.
“Sometimes, she would cry and tell me she doesn’t want to go to her father’s house,” she said.
Although the judge presiding over the custody case was apparently aware of the abuse, he has continued to grant long-term custody of the child to the ex-husband.
According to the couple’s divorce papers, which the mother claims were drawn up by her husband and a judge, custody of the child will be transferred to the father when she turns seven in August.
The second mother, an Emirati-born Bahraini and a former wife of another ministry employee, is allegedly being harassed and followed while embroiled in a court case for custody of her children. Her ex-husband, who has no relatives in Bahrain, is now reportedly trying to pressure her into giving up the apartment she shares with her children and has stopped providing alimony because of a judge’s ruling. After leaving her allegedly abusive husband in 2003, she is battling for custody of her three children, who are aged 14 and under.
She temporarily lost custody of them after he filed a court case accusing her of being a prostitute. But even though she was acquitted of the charges, the Sharia Court granted custody of the children to their father. In September 2006, the ex-husband, a policeman, allegedly threatened her at gunpoint.
She also says she has been physically assaulted by members of her ex-husband’s family and claims anonymous callers have told her she will never get custody of her children – warning they will harm her if she continues to publicise her case.
Her ex-husband has reportedly been appearing outside her house and brandishing his gun to frighten her.
The case has now been transferred to a civil court, where the judge apparently refuses to allow her to speak in court.
Previously, her son was allegedly verbally reprimanded and forced to leave the courtroom when he stated that he would choose to live with his mother.
The woman, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons, is due back in court on June 20 for the next hearing.
“We (and the now dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights) are asking local and international non-governmental organisations and human rights workers to support these women,” said Women’s Petition Committee head Ghada Jamsheer.
“And we ask His Majesty King Hamad now, as head of the Supreme Council of Judges, to stop these judges from taking these actions against women and children.
“We call for a renewal of efforts to draft and implement a Personal Status Law (family law) in Bahrain, as a means of protecting and promoting the rights of women and children under Bahraini law.”
Women’s rights activists have long been campaigning for a family law in writing, which would be referred to when deciding domestic disputes in court. becky@gdn.com.bh
© Gulf Daily News
