webfact Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Saudi women to be told of divorce by text message under new law By Lin Taylor and Heba Kanso A woman using an iPhone visits the 27th Janadriya festival on the outskirts of Riyadh in this February 13, 2012 file photo. LONDON/BEIRUT (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women in Saudi Arabia will be notified by text message if they are divorced under a new law designed to protect them from having their marriage ended without their knowledge, the government said on Sunday. The new law, that came into effect on Sunday, was seen as a way to end secret divorces and ensure women are fully aware of their marital status so they can protect rights such as alimony. The move comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has started to give women more rights in the conservative kingdom, which included lifting a ban on women driving last year. "Saudi courts have started to send such (divorce) notifications ... a step aimed at protecting the rights of female clients," the Saudi Ministry of Justice said in a statement on their website. It said women could check their marital status on the ministry's website or visit the relevant court to get a copy of divorce papers. "In most Arab countries, men can just divorce their wives," said Suad Abu-Dayyeh from global rights group, Equality Now. "At least women will know whether they are divorced or not. It is a tiny step, but it is a step in the right direction," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. But Abu-Dayyeh said knowing about a divorce does not mean a woman will get alimony or the custody of her children. In recent years women in Saudi Arabia have been allowed to enter sports stadiums for the first time, vote in local elections, and take a greater role in the workforce as Saudi Arabia tries to diversify its oil-dependent economy. But many Saudi women have taken to social media to push from more freedom, including protesting against the country's strict dress codes with women required to wear an abaya - a loose, all-covering robe - when in public. Campaigners said the main sticking point remained Saudi Arabia's guardianship policy, whereby women must have permission from a male relative to work, travel, marry, and even get some medical treatment. "The male guardianship system is a core issue and it must be dismantled. It controls women in each and every step of their lives. This system strangles Saudi women," said Abu-Dayyeh. Although many have hailed the Saudi government's reforms, these have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent with about a dozen female activists arrested. In November, rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia of torturing and sexually harassing some detained female activists - allegations denied by a Saudi official to Reuters. A group of British parliamentarians and lawyers on Wednesday requested an "urgent response" from the Saudi ambassador by Jan. 9 to allow them to speak with the detained activists. (Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Additional reporting by Heba Kanso, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and slavery, property rights, social innovation, resilience and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories) -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 I was going to say it was a "medieval society", but it is not. Women in medieval society had significantly more rights... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quandow Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 WOW those Saudis are SO progressive. Let's hope the rest of the world catches on to this. <sarcasm> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Thailand has proven time and time again that they do not care about deporting people who could be jailed due to speech. This will not end well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee. Oh sorry I forgot......lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justgrazing Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 1 hour ago, webfact said: Saudi women to be told of divorce by text message under new law Great if that were to come here .. You'd be able to drop Nuy , Puy and Joy from a safe distance without fear of getting hit in the usual plate throwing histrionics that often follow a decision to terminate the relationship .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMarKable Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Are Saudi women allowed to go to the toilet by themselves when out of the house with a male escort? Or, does the escort go inside to make sure she is not escaping. I suppose they have "property of ______ " stamped on their butt, but at least they know when they are divorced by text, (poor women would still not know if they cannot afford cell phone) since they are property, no reason to ask the wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweatalot Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 How liberal! I thought stone age was over. I was wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunPer Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 6 hours ago, JAG said: I was going to say it was a "medieval society", but it is not. Women in medieval society had significantly more rights... True, it's not a "medieval society", they didn't have SMS text messages...???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazes Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Salman has started to give women more rights in the conservative kingdom, which included lifting a ban on women driving last year. Ah good....soon there will be a ban on murdering one's political opponents.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dap Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 9 minutes ago, blazes said: Salman has started to give women more rights in the conservative kingdom, which included lifting a ban on women driving last year. Ah good....soon there will be a ban on murdering one's political opponents.... Gonna; be a cold day in hell before anyone bans the "big guy" from doing anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Troll post and replies removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tifino Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 15 hours ago, car720 said: I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee. Oh sorry I forgot......lol. yeah! but will that be 3 times on the one txt? or said once over 3 txts? a rich Saudi can afford to it thrice too bad if he had already cancelled her phone, and she couldn't receive any txt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer90210 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 And in small text under the message, it is mentioned the amount of times the woman will be whipped if she divorces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick dasterdly Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 The appalling situation of Saudi wives is too depressing to even begin to discuss from a Western pov. But I find it funny (NOW......) that my Western husband sent me an email telling me that he wanted to separate ????! Obviously nothing like the situation of Saudi wives, but funny to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactus Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 ''Saudi courts have started to send such (divorce) notifications ... a step aimed at protecting the rights of female clients," the Saudi Ministry of Justice said in a statement on their website.'' what a bigot country! so they gave rights to women to learn their divorce by text message! In the meantime, a women cannot divorce her husband! what a joke. just like a tribal country. but even tribes in Africa or Amazon etc are more modern and liberal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerojero Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 ''Saudi courts have started to send such (divorce) notifications ... a step aimed at protecting the rights of female clients," the Saudi Ministry of Justice said in a statement on their website.'' what a bigot country! so they gave rights to women to learn their divorce by text message! In the meantime, a women cannot divorce her husband! what a joke. just like a tribal country. but even tribes in Africa or Amazon etc are more modern and liberal!Stone Age tribalism. Truly unbelievable given the modern progress of human rights and gender equalization in vast majority of the world's countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opl Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 the kind of education saudi men must receive gives a poor but well deserved image of the arab manhood, so pityful for saudi women Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candide Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 The next improvement will be that they can also be notified by text message when they will be lapidated! ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balo Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I wonder if Saudi Arabia was a better country 200 years ago than today ? Islam always been there but I think the women could move more freely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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