கட்டாய விவாகரத்து பற்றி பொருளாதார உச்சிமாநாட்டில் வாக்குவாதம்

கட்டாய விவாகரத்து பற்றி பொருளாதார உச்சிமாநாட்டில் வாக்குவாதம் நடந்தது.

சவுதி அரசாங்க பிரதிநிதிகளுக்கும் மனித உரிமை கழகத்தினருக்கும் இடையே வாக்குவாதம் நடந்தது.

சமீபத்தில் ஏராளமான இப்படிப்பட்ட கட்டாய விவாகரத்துகள் வெளிச்சத்துக்கு வந்துள்ளன. அரபு ஜாதிகளில் மேல்ஜாதி கீழ் ஜாதி பிரச்னையால், பல விவாகங்கள் கட்டாயமாக சவுதி நீதித்துறையால் விவாகரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.

இதனை மனித உரிமைக் க்ழகம் எதிர்க்கிறது. அரசாங்கம் சவுதி நீதித்துறைக்கு ஆதரவாக நின்று இந்த கட்டாய் விவாகரத்துக்களை ஆதரிக்கிறது.


Thursday, March 1, 2007
Forced Divorce Now a Forum Issue
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
By Sabria S. Jawhar
The Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH
THE issue of forced divorce, an unlikely topic to be discussed at the Jeddah Economic Forum, became an unexpected hot-button topic during a panel session Monday that erupted into a brief confrontation between some audience members and Riyadh’s human rights representative.

During a question-and-answer period in the afternoon session on the role of law in economic reform attended by former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Human Rights representative Abdullah Aziz Mohammed Hinaidi, the audience peppered Hinaidi with questions about his views of forced divorces.
The issue of forced divorce has become one of the hottest debates in Saudi Arabia after several cases have surfaced in recent months. The most controversial case involves Fatima Al-Timani, 34, and her husband Mansour Al-Timani, 37, who were divorced in absentia and against their will. In another case Rania Al-Bouenin and Saud Al-Khaledi also were forced to get divorced on a petition filed in Al-Khobar court by her father.

A squabble erupted when Dr. Ameera Kashgari, an English language professor and columnist, asked Hinaidi how forced divorces affect the development of emerging countries and whether it violates the human rights treaties signed by the Kingdom.

Moderator Alistar Stewart quickly cut her off. Hinaidi, however, attempted to answer the question by noting that Saudi Arabia “is committed to the treaties” it signed and that the government is doing a good job on the issue of human rights.

When pressed to give his own opinions abut such divorce cases, Hinaidi did not answer.

A man in the audience jumped up and asked the same question, noting his concern over the increasing number of forced divorce cases in the judicial system and the consequences of such cases if a divorce is granted.

Hinaidi replied that such cases were not good for society. He also said that the Human Rights Commission was cooperating with the government on the issue and that concerns have been “transferred to the Ministry of Justice.” He did not elaborate on how the Ministry of Justice was going to address the issue.

Hinaidi then told a story of a Saudi woman who fell in love with her driver and fled to the driver’s own country to marry him and to live there without her father’s permission. The father’s only recourse, he said, was to stop financial aid to his daughter and to block her private bank account. The woman has been married for several years and now has three children.

Several audience members complained the woman’s story was not relevant to the issue of forced divorce. Another female audience member accused Hinaidi of not directly answering the questions from the audience, but again Stewart cut off the question.

The session, several members of the audience filed out of the hall complaining that their opportunity to get answers about the issue was foiled by Stewart and Hinaidi’s reluctance to be forthright about his own views as a human rights representative.