JEDDAH: Saudi courts have registered marriages of 394 Filipinas without their wali (parents or guardians) where a “judge” fulfilled the responsibilities of their guardian instead of fathers or relatives, according to the latest statistics by the Kingdom’s Justice Ministry.
This happened despite the law that says the guardian is a must for a woman’s marriage. If she does not have a guardian or the guardian refuses to show up, then the judge can allow them to be married, reported Arab News.
Out of total 517 women who were married under the guardianship of a judge last year, Filipino women formed the largest segment.
There were just 16 Saudi women, of which three were married to Filipino men, three to Syrians, three to Egyptians, one to a Jordanian, one to an Indian, one to an American and one to a Yemeni.
The court declared 4,983 marriages null and void last year. The reasons were bad marital relationships, disappearance of the husband for a long time, imprisonment of any of the partners among others, Arab News reported.
Photo credit: Arab News
