Maha Al-Shehri

Okaz

As part of the effort of the Ministry of Justice to put an end to secret divorce in which a husband divorces his wife without her knowledge, the ministry has activated an SMS that notifies the wife about the divorce. This is a good step on the part of the ministry, but that opens the door to questions about the method of divorce and the rights of women in the divorce process. Women are not called upon to be involved in divorce procedures and their approval is not required in the same way that it is in the case of marriage.

The strange thing is that the relationship between the husband and wife begins with a marriage contract which is an agreement between the two parties but ends with a solo decision on the part of the man. When a woman wants custody of her children or alimony or any type of compensation, she is forced to take legal action to demand it. Furthermore, the balance of rights between the two parties varies at the social level.

The wife is the weakest link in the divorce and should be present when the divorce verdict is issued. Current practices underline the authority of men rather than partnership in marriage. Many men take advantage of this and divorce their wives without their knowledge. In reality, the wife’s right is not limited to receiving news of the divorce through an SMS. She should be able to appear in front of a judge and state her side of the story so future problems related to the divorce can be avoided.

There is a need for a clear civil law to deal with family issues along with the use of technology to apply rules and regulations in order to achieve justice between the two genders.