FORCED DIVORCE: A NEW PHENOMENON IN SAUDI ARABIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000580

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TAGS: PHUM PGOV KISL KWMN KPAO SA
SUBJECT: FORCED DIVORCE: A NEW PHENOMENON IN SAUDI ARABIA
-- OR NOT?

REF: A. RIYADH 6730

B. 06 RIYADH 0483

C. 06 RIYADH 7193

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Gfoeller for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Saudi press reported on March 11 that
the Ministry of Justice has formed a committee to investigate
the growing number of "forced" divorces in the Kingdom.
Saudi poet and activist Nimah Nawwab is one of several women
who have raised the visibility of this issue in the press
through a letter writing campaign and the circulation of an
international petition. Nawwab told PolOff on March 17 that
forced divorce -- ostensibly based on unequal tribal lineage
-- is a new phenomenon in the Kingdom and often initiated by
greedy male relatives who want to control family assets.
Nawwab claimed that "tribal law trumps Islamic law" in these
cases, but Professor of Political Science at King Saud
University Dr. Abdulkarim Al Dekhayel thinks that the
Islamists are exploiting tribal traditions to achieve a more
conservative state. Other Saudi interlocutors state that
forced divorce is not a new phenomenon, but that its
appearance in the media is. Nawwab admitted that the press'
aggressive coverage of these cases is surprising, pointing
out that other traditionally "sensitive" issues are also
being openly discussed. Despite this progress, she said,
there have been setbacks for women and the "time is not yet
right" for significant reform regarding women's rights. She
suggested that Saudi society is not ready to take on the real
issue -- guardianship. The SAG is employing what is becoming
a consistent pattern to address the problem, using the press
as a means to leverage public outrage into a logical solution
that is consistent with the government's domestic agenda.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Saudi press reported on March 11 that the Ministry
of Justice has formed a committee to investigate the growing
number of "forced" divorces in the Kingdom. The committee,
which is expected to include a number of experts in Islamic
Law, is charged with determining how Shari'a law applies to
marriages between individuals with "tribal incompatibility,"
i.e., unequal tribal lineage. There have been 22 new cases
of forced divorce since the press first reported last year
that Mansour Al Timani and his wife Fatima were divorced in
absentia against their will at the request of her male family
members (ref A). As a result of the escalating number of
cases, there has been increased media coverage of this issue
-- in part due to the efforts of women such as Saudi poet and
activist Nimah Nawwab, who has mounted a letter-writing
campaign to raise the visibility of these cases. Nawwab,
along with the Muslim Women Writers Alliance, is also
spearheading the circulation of an international petition,
"Say No to Forced Divorce -- Yes to Reform," that she hopes
will result in the King's intervention.


3. (C) Nawwab told PolOff on March 17 that the "Fatima case"
is the first known incident of forced divorce in the Kingdom
and that this is a new phenomenon. However, other Saudi
interlocutors have indicated that only the public discussion
of forced divorce is new. Several tribal contacts have noted
that, in fact, cases such as Fatima's are the "norm," not the
exception. (NOTE: Fatima and Mansour were married for over
three years when her half-brothers, who had gained custody
rights over her after her father died (in the event of
separation from her husband),sought a divorce for her based
on Mansour's "inferior" tribal lineage. Despite the fact
that her father and a local Islamic court had approved the
union, the divorce was granted -- even though the couple
repeatedly stated they did not want the divorce. END NOTE.)


4. (C) In discussions about the forced divorce "phenomenon,"
a number of Saudis have pointed out that a key element of the
debate on "tribal inequity" in a marriage is whether the men
in these cases told the truth about their lineage. They
claim that the dishonor brought to a family by a man lying
about his tribal roots outweighs other considerations.
Personally, involved with several of these cases, Nawwab
emphasized that forced divorce is really only a symptom of a
broader problem -- the concept of guardianship -- or
"mahram." (NOTE: Women in Saudi Arabia are required to have
a legal male guardian. END NOTE.) Nawwab insisted that as
long as Saudi women require guardians, unscrupulous male
relatives will find ways to exploit them. She claimed that
these forced divorces are most often based on the greed of
male relatives who do not want to lose control of family
assets. As yet another manifestation of this problem, she

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pointed to those cases where women are forced to work and
then turn their salaries over to male guardians. Women have
more employment opportunities than in the past, she stated,
but there are also more cases of women who are forced to
work. Other sources tell us that there are also cases of
male guardians registering women at universities in order to
receive the monthly government stipend to which students are
entitled.


5. (C) Turning back to the issue of forced divorce, Nawwab
echoed what Secretary General of Qassim Regional Council
Hamad Al Zaidan told PolOff on March 6 -- that people do not
want the courts to resolve these "family" issues. Nawwab
went so far as to say that tribal affiliation is not a
consideration for marriage under Islamic law, and that the
courts do not have jurisdiction over such cases. She stated
bluntly that with this phenomenon of forced divorce is
"tribal law trumping Islamic law." Professor of Political
Science at King Saud University Dr. Abdulkarim Al Dekhayel
had a different take on the problem, telling PolOff on March
11 that the Islamists are exploiting tribal traditions to
achieve their own aim, which is to effect a more conservative
Islamic state.


6. (C) Nawwab admitted that the press' aggressive coverage of
these cases, while welcomed, is surprising. She pointed out
that other traditionally "sensitive" issues are also now
being openly addressed in the Saudi press, such as the case
of the woman in Qatif who, after being raped, was sentenced
to 90 lashes for being alone with her ex-boyfriend, who was
also raped (ref B). She acknowledged that articles and
editorials such as these would not have been published in the
past and suggested that it is only because the SAG is
allowing the press to publicly address these issues that they
are making their way into the press. She echoed the
statements Al Dekhhayel made to PolOff that the conservative
religious establishment is "flexing" because it is concerned
about reforms that are making Saudi society more liberal.
Reforms relating to women are moving forward step-by-step,
Nawwab said, pointing to the establishment of the Ministry of
Justice committee as an example of measured progress.
(COMMENT: The Ministry of Justice is one of the more
conservative Saudi ministries. END COMMENT.)


7. (C) Despite this progress, claimed Nawwab, there have been
setbacks for women, adding that she does not think the "time
is right" for significant reform regarding women's rights.
She noted that there were only approximately 1,000 signatures
on the international petition "Say No to Forced Divorce --
Yes to Reform," which began circulating in mid-February.
Most of the signatories were women from outside the Kingdom.
(NOTE: A petition circulated in September 2006 protesting a
proposal to eliminate the prayer area for women within the
"Kabaa" in Mecca's Grand Mosque garnered over 2,000
signatures in just days (ref C). END NOTE.) She suggested
that Saudi society, including women, is simply not ready yet
to take on the real issue -- guardianship.


8. (C) COMMENT: The issue of forced divorce based on tribal
incompatibility is a confusing juxtaposition of the three
primary drivers in Saudi society -- the government, the
religious establishment, and tribal affiliations. If, as
many claim, greedy relatives are simply exploiting tribal
biases as a means to an end, this "phenomenon," although
clearly worrisome, is little more than crafty manipulation
and Shari'a is the "other" victim. If, however, the
Islamists are manipulating tribal traditions to effect a more
conservative state, it amounts to an indirect assault on the
SAG's efforts at reform. What is clear is that the SAG is
employing what is becoming a consistent pattern to address
the problem. It is using the press as a means to leverage
public outrage regarding forced divorce into a logical
solution that is not only easily justifiable, but also
consistent with the government's domestic reform agenda. END
COMMENT.
OBERWETTER