Al-Madina When a person acts contrary to his principled stand, the impact of his action will be limited to that individual and those around him. But when an official organization violates its own rules the effect would be on the entire society. It would create confusion among the public on issues, such as separating couples on the basis of social incompatibility. We have read about two incidents in which the courts denied women their right to choose life partners. The Shariah has clearly stated that a father or guardian will be punished for preventing a woman from getting married. The same law will be applied to individuals who try to destroy the peaceful married life of a couple, raising the issue of lineage and triggering sectarianism. The Council of Senior Islamic Scholars issued a resolution in 1989, saying that it is not allowed to prevent a woman from marrying a suitor she likes and force her to marry someone she does not like as it goes against the Shariah. Fatima and Mansour were separated in 2006 and many other couples have been separated since then citing incompatibility in social or family status. Recently we have heard about the separation of Maha Al-Tamimi and Ali Al-Garni. Was not the court's decision to separate the couple a violation of the fatwa or religious ruling issued by the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars? According to a statement issued by Mansour Al-Qafari, spokesman for the Justice Ministry, the court verdict was not final. But the question is why this injustice was inflicted against a woman who was not only living peacefully with her husband she chose but also expecting a child. We have thought the woeful experience suffered by Fatima and Mansour and their two children would impel the authorities to review the custom that allows separation of couples in light of tribal incompatibility. The issuance of court verdicts to separate such couples would undoubtedly deepen the racist and sectarian sentiments in society. Islamic teachings as well as Saudi culture reject such separations. The fatwa issued by the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars has stated that those who prevent marriage of women under their guardianship and forcibly marry them off to suitors they do not like will be disobeying Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). If they do not stop this pre-Islamic practice they should be punished by putting them in jail until they back down from such a demand, which has been prohibited by Islam. A person who agrees to the nullification of his marriage in this manner thinks that his family status and lineage are higher than those of his wife. Consequently his demand is a violation of the Shariah. The law does not differentiate between men and women on the basis of lineage or pedigree. Then why did the judge separate Fatima and Mansour and another judge Ali Al-Garni and his wife Maha Al-Tamimi? The irony is that the plaintiffs were the couples' uncles. This shows that women face challenges not only in education, work and travel but also in having a stable family life. The guardianship law threatens the woman's identity and personality to the point that even her own son whom she had given birth and brought up determines her future. Many uncles had appeared in courts to humiliate and weaken women. Even though Saudi women have achieved remarkable progress in terms of Shoura and Municipal Council membership they still lag behind in many areas. It gives an impression that we have created an unreal picture of our women just to show off to the world. However, it should be appreciated that women were given an opportunity to participate in nationwide elections although most procedures were designed to discourage her from taking part. Islam has honored woman in all aspects of her life and in her relations with others. This honor bestowed by Islam on woman is the greatest evidence we have to counter the allegations raised by some Western countries and human rights organizations, which look at our societies with suspicion of discriminating against women even while living with her husband. Her peaceful married life is destroyed by forced divorces, which deny her the right guaranteed by Islam to choose a life partner.
