InfoAnda - Saudi women fight for control of their marital fate

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Pakistani court sentences Americans for terrorism | 25 June 2010
Google says search engine 'partially blocked' in China | 30 June 2010
Blame-game over deadly India train crash | 20 July 2010

There's no way off the road known as Camino Real | 21 January 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Saudi women fight for control of their marital fate

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Asia Pacific World Saudi women fight for control of their marital fate AFP - Sunday, October 3 Send IM Story Print Saudi women fight for control of their marital fate RIYADH (AFP) - – Women in Saudi Arabia are fighting back against tribal traditions that make them hostage to the whims of their fathers and male guardians who alone can decide who their future husbands will be. Faced with a lifetime of being forced to remain single, an increasing number of Saudi women, many of them university graduates with good jobs, are going to court to dispute their fathers' refusal to sign off on their marriages. In July, a Medina court rejected a 42-year-old doctor's petition to override her father and brothers' refusal to allow her marriage to a surgeon she works with, because he did not belong to their tribe. The court ruled that the father was justified, and that she was not being obedient by trying to marry someone outside the clan. "Unfortunately we have a strange paradox in society, where young girls only 10 years old can be married, but an adult woman can be prevented from marrying for illogical reasons," Suhaila Zainal Abidin of the National Society for Human Rights told AFP. University professor Amal Saleh agreed. "We want to eliminate this phenomenon of ignorance," said Saleh who has a Facebook campaign supporting Saudi women's marriage rights. "In pre-Islamic times they would just kill an unwanted daughter. Now it is killing her as an adult," she said. Islamic teachings say that a father must agree to his daughter's marriage if the potential husband is moral and a devout Muslim. But in Saudi Arabia, a blend of Islamic sharia law and deeply conservative tribal traditions gives men absolute control over their daughters until they wed. The result is that government officials and judges will not allow a woman to marry without the permission of her official male guardian -- her father, or a brother or uncle if the father is dead. The most common reason is the tribal issue: the fathers insist their daughters marry someone inside their clan, the key social fabric of the kingdom from which derives significant political and economic power. "There are fathers who themselves married outside their tribe, who at the same time deprive their daughters from marrying outside!" said Abidin. Sometimes a daughter is not allowed to marry a man she likes on the basis of having been pledged since childhood to someone else, perhaps a cousin. Some women must remain single until an older sister gets married first, while others are forced by their fathers to remain unmarried to ensure that any income they earn from working or social welfare stays at home. Maha, a woman AFP contacted via email, is a typical case. When she was 26, she turned down a marriage from inside her tribe set up by relatives and a matchmaker because she considered the husband-to-be "not qualified." Since then, family members have found her other candidates for matrimony from outside the tribe, but her father and brothers turned each one down. "My father and my brothers have continuously refused, and now, after reaching 38, they are pushing me to marry a man of 42 who is addicted to hashish," said Maha, who asked that her surname not be published. In the past six years 86 women have resorted to the courts to enable them to marry after being refused permission by their male guardian, including 13 cases in 2010, according to the country's National Society for Human Rights. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, because most such victims suffer in silence rather than challenge their own families. The reasons for the problem vary from town to town and tribe to tribe, said Saleh, and include objections to marriages between members of different tribes, members of tribes and townspeople, and people from different regions. "But the main reason is the prevailing ignorance of religious teachings in society," she said. She pointed to a fatwa from the prominent Saudi Sheikh Abdullah bin Jibreen, who died last year, who had ruled that fathers cannot prevent their daughters from marrying. "All we want is the application of this fatwa," Saleh said. She said that at the least, the country should have rules to oblige a father or male guardian to approve a marriage after the woman reaches the age of 35. Aziza, a university professor, said her father flatly denied her permission to marry anyone at all. "My father refused me permission to marry on the grounds that there is no one worthy of me, and I respected his wish," she told AFP. But after she turned 30, he still denied her permission to marry and blamed his daughter for creating impossible conditions, she said. "After I got over my shame, I tried to discuss the matter with him directly" but it infuriated him, she said. He threatened her, locked her in her room and cut her off from her relatives, she said. Aziza said she tried to take her own life several times. "Today, I am 39 and unmarried." Nora Mohammed said her father kept her at home to reap the benefits from government social welfare payments. "Many guys sought to marry me when I was in my 20s. But my father, who is dead now, rejected them without reason. "Now I am 42 without anyone who wants to marry me except those who are twice my age." Abidin said that the strict Saudi school of sharia jurisprudence needs to open up, to accept principles from other schools that give women more leeway in their marriages. "Some judges are standing with the fathers," she said. "This is preventing girls from marrying and from becoming mothers as well." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles TV industry show hails smartphone, Facebook era AFP - Sunday, October 3 Warner, MGM near approving "Hobbit" film: report Reuters - Sunday, October 3 US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Reuters - 2 hours 38 minutes ago Photographer Larry Clark attacks age limit on his Paris show AFP - Sunday, October 3 Boosters hope Alaska will be "Hollywood Far North" Reuters - Sunday, October 3 News Search Top Stories Europe draw level with US in rain-hit Ryder Cup Bosnian voters hope elections will bring change US contemplating travel alert for Europe Foreclosures bungle could hit US banks Mix of sadness, triumph as Brazil's Lula makes his exit More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Mix of sadness, triumph as Brazil's Lula makes his exit China's Wen calls on EU to help it reform financial system US contemplating travel alert for Europe Foreclosures bungle could hit US banks Brake problem forces BMW, Rolls-Royce recall More Most Viewed » US state executes first woman in nearly 100 years 'Time bomb' superbug requires global response: doctor Workers swarm Europe's streets in anti-cuts protests More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos World Cup 2010 Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

Other News on Sunday, 3 October 2010
No talks until Israel halts settlements
Italian protestors call for Berlusconi's resignation
Rousseff ends Brazil campaign in Lula heartland |
Bazil's Petrobras expands capitalization to 71.6 bln dollars
Armed gang kidnaps group near Acapulco's tourist strip |
Discovery of New Earth-Like Planet Triggers Huge Web Search
Iran says several held for spying on nuclear sites |
Ecuador's Correa to purge rebel police, probe foes |
N.Korea seeks talks with South on resuming tours
Whitman looks to regain momentum in second debate
Labor, civil rights groups rally on Mall
Grand jury indicts accused California kidnappers
NJ student's suicide resonates on campus, beyond
Photos show US soldiers posing with Afghan corpses
Minimum and maximum global temperatures
Sonia Rykiel takes 'Golden Brown' trip to 70s
Put a shirt on with Viktor and Rolf
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Countries reach tentative anti-counterfeiting pact
US novelist Franzen hit by UK recall
UK govt to scrap 'no touch' rule for teachers
Greece picks up Chinese support as Wen visits
Druidry recognised as religion in Britain
Warner, MGM near approving Hobbit film: report |
Boosters hope Alaska will be Hollywood Far North |
2 NATO service members killed in Afghanistan
No talks until Israel halts settlements, PLO says |
Hope for change as Pope visits Mafia heartland
Australia's PM makes surprise visit to Afghanistan
Lula's pick favored as Brazil votes for president |
Bosnians vote amid pessimism and divisions |
Iran says several held for spying on nuclear sites
US contemplating travel alert for Europe
Foreclosures bungle could hit US banks
Syria's Assad rebuffs Washington by courting Iran
Ecuador's Correa backs off dissolving Congress |
Mix of sadness, triumph as Brazil's Lula makes his exit
China's Wen calls on EU to help it reform financial system
Mexico probing Acapulco tourist kidnapping report |
Fidel Castro may visit Venezuela, Chavez says |
Paraguayan leader's health stable after treatment |
Australian PM visits Afghanistan
DC rally shows support for struggling Democrats
Warner, MGM near approving "Hobbit" film: report
China's Hu pledges strong ties with new N.Korea leadership
Boosters hope Alaska will be "Hollywood Far North"
Japan-based Lee new WBA super bantamweight champion
Jankovic, Date Krumm advance at China Open
Contender for Nobel prize is in Chinese prison
China hopes 'eco-city' will prove a model alternative
Beth Ditto brings Jean Paul Gaultier XXL appeal
Italian architect unveils new wing at US art museum
Greece picks up Chinese support as Wen visits
Thousands march in S.Africa against gay discrimination
Vigorous Exercise Shown To Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer In African Americans
CNN Fires Rick Sanchez Over Racist Comments
Warner, MGM near approving "Hobbit" film: report
Armored Truck Security Guard Gunned Down in Heist
Photographer Larry Clark attacks age limit on his Paris show
Boosters hope Alaska will be "Hollywood Far North"
Indonesian police probe deadly train crash
Afghanistan begins disbanding private security firms |
Bosnian voters hope elections will bring change
Police Horses Struck By Car
Grenade attack in Mexico injures 12 people |
US contemplating travel alert for Europe
U.S. Apologizes For Giving Guatemalans STDs
Iraq crackdown on bombers brings silenced killings |
U.S. Issues Alert for People Traveling to Europe
Young Boy Killed In House Fire During Religious Ceremony
Latvia PM wins election |
Palestinians want peace talks to continue: US envoy
German president welcomes Islam during unity speech |
Thai queen leaves hospital after heart scare
US has 'dragged the world in mud' says Ahmadinejad
Civilians among dead in Afghanistan strike: police |
C'weath Games set to open after shambolic run-up
Suspected Muslim separatists kill 3 Thai soldiers |
Building collapse kills eight in China
Indonesia police kill six suspected militants
Japan FM downplays 'bad neighbour' label on China
Poverty still stalks resource-rich Mongolia
Libya releases S.Korea pastor, diplomacy row ebbs
Fiji military regime arrests opposition leader
Philippines to acquire aircraft from Italy, Poland
Most British teachers have thought about quitting
Europe, Asia leaders gather as Japan-China row lurks
TV industry show hails smartphone, Facebook era
Time for new 'gold standard', says star French chef Ducasse
China-Africa 2010 trade 'to top $100 bln'
Saudi women fight for control of their marital fate
New York opera houses woo new fans with edgier fare |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01