Okaz/Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — The Ministry of Justice reported that a total of 517 women got married this year in various parts of the Kingdom with the help of judges. A source from the ministry said 501 of the women who approached the courts for help in getting married were non-Saudis while only 16 were Saudis. "Fourteen of the Saudi women who sought the help of the judiciary to get married were from Makkah Province while two of them from the Eastern Province," the source said, adding that there were no cases of adl (a lawsuit lodged by women against their guardian for obstructing their marriage) in other regions of the Kingdom this year. The source also said Saudi courts strictly follow the procedures when dealing with such cases. "The woman may go to the local court and file an adl lawsuit against her guardian. The judge will try to reconcile between the woman and her guardian. If the judge failed to reconcile the two, then the judge will suggest to the guardian that he transfers the guardianship of the woman to another blood relative," said the source. The source also said if the guardian rejects the suggestion, then the judge himself assumes the guardianship of the woman. "The judge will allow the woman to marry the man of choice if he is still ready to marry her. In many cases, the suitors back away from their proposal when the woman demands the transfer of guardianship," the source said. However, the guardian does not have the right to stand in the way of the woman and her choice of marriage, he added. Article 33 of the Legal Proceedings Law allows civil courts to look into cases of women who do not have a guardian to marry them or cases of guardians who prevent them from getting married
