Staying on the theme of divorce, after reading the article I posted a few days ago many of you out there felt pity for Saudi women as they seemed to be the poor victims whilst Saudi men took on the character of being the dominant villains. Sorry to burst your bubble folks but this scenario is definitely not true. As I mentioned earlier there is always two sides to a story. Let us now examine some of the weird and bizarre reasons why a Saudi woman would divorce her husband. Whilst surfing the internet I once again came across some really hilarious articles.
A wife put an end to her husband’s romantic conduct when she filed for divorce after he kissed her in front of their children, Riyadh daily reported.
According to the wife, for years she had suffered from her husband’s overrated romance. She said that she had warned him many times not to be over romantic with her in front of the kids.For five years, she said, she had condoned his behavior, until he kissed her recently in front of the children again. She then filed for divorce.
"A Saudi Arabian woman filed for divorce after her new husband left her at an airport because shed been on the toilet for too long. The couple were returning from their honeymoon in Malaysia when he returned home from Kuala Lumpur airport because she had been in the bathroom for too long. Im not sure how long constitutes too long and an acceptable reason to leave without her."
After 30 years of marriage, cynics might say most husbands and wives would have seen quite enough of each other, thank you very much.But not in the case of one Saudi Arabian man who managed to live with his wife for three decades without setting eyes on her face.Not that he had much choice about it. His 50-year-old wife followed the tradition of her native village near the south-western city of Khamis Mushayt and kept her features veiled at all times.Until one night last month, that is, when the husband was finally overcome by curiosity and tried to lift his wife's veil as she slept to take a look at her face.
Tradition: In the village in South West Saudia Arabia, women keep their features veiled at all times.It was an error he is unlikely to be given a chance to repeat for his outraged wife woke up during his sneak peek and is now demanding a divorce.
'After all these years, he tries to commit such a big mistake,' she told Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh after leaving the house in disbelief.
She said her husband apologized and promised never to do it again, but she insisted she wanted a divorce. It is not the first example of Saudi husbands with wives forever shrouded in mystery.There was the case of Ali al-Qahtani whose wife had been wearing a face veil for the entire ten years of their marriage. When he tried to take it off she threatened to leave and only decided to stay after he swore never to try again.And neither the husband or children of Om Rabea al-Gahdaray, 70, have ever seen her face. It was a family tradition, also followed by her mother and sisters, which her husband accepted and never tried to change, she said. When asked how she could have children without her husband ever seeing her face, she replied: "Marriage is about love, not faces."Many Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran require women to cover their faces in public but in the privacy of their homes there is no such compulsion.But always remaining veiled - even in front of your husband - is not an Islamic practice, but a very old tradition practiced by a tiny minority of women in remote areas of Gulf countries.Most examples of it are in Saudi, one of the most conservative of countries.
Saudi courts should grant divorce for a woman who discovers that her husband is a smoker and that she is harmed by his habit, a judge in the Gulf Kingdom was reported on Thursday as saying.“A wife should be granted divorce and separated from her husband in case she discovers that he is a smoker,” judge Ibrahim Al khudairi told the Saudi Arabic language daily Al Watan.“If the woman tells the court that she has been hurt by her husband’s smoking, like suffering from allergy or chest problems, then she should be divorced.”
Furious after her husband stores her name on his cellular phone as Guantanamo, a Saudi woman files divorce after the notorious American prison, saying it is enough of a reason to end a 17-year marriage.The unnamed woman, 30, reportedly called her husband on his mobile phone, which he had forgotten at home, and saw the word "Guantanamo" appears on the screen, Saudi's al-Watan newspaper reported.The furious wife, who lives in Jeddah, immediately filed for divorce and argued that the nickname shows her husband, is a tyrannical person that she could no longer live with despite 17 years of marriage. The husband, however, defended himself by claiming that the nickname was not about how he sees her, but rather to maintain his own privacy."I don't want people sitting around me to know that this is my wife calling," he told local papers.The controversial Guantanamo Bay detention center, managed by the U.S. military in Cuba, became the symbol of torture and oppression in George W. Bush's "war on terrorism" launched after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.For other Saudi husbands it is common practice to create alias' for their wives on their phones in a bid to secure their privacy.Saudi-resident Khaled al-Maliki chose the nickname "criminal" for his wife because he says she stresses him out and calls him all the time to ask where he is. Maliki also cites privacy as the reason for giving his wife the nickname."Sometimes my friends use my mobile phone or might be next to me when she calls," he told Asharq al-Awsat. "I don't want anyone to know my wife's phone number."Khaled Omar said he stored his wife "salary" because "she has no mercy when it comes to spending."Abu Sultan decided to store his wife under a common Arabic man's name "Saeed al-Hindi" so that people will not know his wife is calling.But for Dr. Mohamed al-Motawaa, professor of psychology at the al-Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University, these names are provocative and insulting."These names indicate the type of relationship between husband and wife," he told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. "These names are like a bullet aiming at the woman's heart, especially if the kids hear them," he said. "This is has a negative impact not only on the wife, but also on the kids when they grow up."
A colleague and I were both laughing in stitches after reading the last article. I then asked him what nickname would he use for his wife and whilst still very much in a fit of laughter he replied 'Hitler'. So gentlemen out there what pseudonym or alias would you create for your wife on your mobile phone? This ought to be an interesting one.
