Bahrain: Call to rein in runaway husbands

Bahrain: Call to rein in runaway husbands

A Bahraini activist has demanded GCC governments to place restrictions on husbands who abandon their wives.

This follows protests by a group of abandoned women outside the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs on Sunday. They were demanding their cases be placed on the fast track so that justice could be meted out. “The authorities of these GCC states regularly meet and discuss security matters. They could work to nab these runaway husbands who leave the women with their children,” Afaf Al Jamri said.
She said presently husbands could leave the country and re-marry without bothering about their wives.

“This is a big problem which is not addressed in the country. I support these women who were dumped by their husbands. The governments in the region should enact a law which tracks these husbands and put them behind bars,” said Al Jamri who is also member of the Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, General Secretariat.
These deserted women also face problems in getting a divorce because of their runaway husbands.

The Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs had revealed that 464 couples filed papers for divorce. A study conducted in 2003 by the Prince Salman Social Centre in Riyadh revealed that divorce rates in Bahrain was 34 per cent.

The Assistant Undersecretary of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Social Development, Badriya Al Jeeb had told the Tribune that a total of 9,946 people received assistance from the ministry last year. This included 246 women abandoned by their husbands and 1,345 divorced women.

---Bahrain Tribune, Sandeep Singh Grewal, July 2, 2008