Walaa Hawari; 30/3/09 (2 Items)
Sara, a 32-year-old mother of three children, has been trying to secure a divorce from her husband. “My case has been in the court for three months,” she said. “My husband is demanding SR50,000 while all I received from him as a dowry was SR30,000.” Sara is one of many Saudi women seeking separation through khula, a form of divorce in Shariah where the woman secures her divorce through financial compensation to the husband that begins with a reimbursement of the dowry but often includes what the husband sees as his additional expenses for the marriage. Sara’s brothers offered to help out with the cash, “but it is not fair, they all have families and responsibilities,” she said.
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=120981&d=30&m=3&y=2009
45-year-old gets reduced sentence for strangling married sister
Rana Husseini; 30/3/09
The Criminal Court has handed a 45-year-old man a reduced sentence for murdering his married sister in Aqaba last year. The tribunal first handed the defendant a 15-year prison term after convicting him of strangling his 42-year-old sister to death on October 18, 2008. But the court immediately decided to halve the sentence because some of the victim’s family members “dropped charges against him, and also to give him a chance in life, and since he is a father”. The same court acquitted a 17-year-old boy, the son of the defendant, of complicity in manslaughter for lack of evidence.
See: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=15455
Tags: Jordan, Marriage, Saudi Arabia, Womens Rights