A Saudi woman in her 30s who recently separated from her husband tells her sad story. The woman, who prefers to remain anonymous, was forced by her husband to sell her gold and buy an apartment in a neighboring country in his name. After endless fights with her ex-husband, the woman got a divorce and is building her life from scratch. She has lost her wealth and now has two children to look after. “Getting a divorce is not the only struggle, losing one's money is worse,” said the mother of two. She added that her ex-husband took possession of the apartment that she had bought using her gold. She also lost the furniture that she had bought for the apartment. There are many similar stories. A mother of four said she was forced out of a villa that she built along with her husband who had embarked on a plan to get a new wife to live in the villa which had been registered under his name. Saud Al-Hujaili, a lawyer from Madina and a member of the Arab Lawyers Committee, said he often receives such cases and that women get trapped because their husbands tend to take their salaries and that in the majority of cases only men can register themselves at the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF). Only women who are unmarried and over 40 can register for loans with the REDF. Married women cannot register for REDF loans, and divorced women must wait for two years after their divorce before applying for a loan. Widows can only qualify for a loan if they are unmarried. The rule of thumb is that women can only qualify for a loan if they are the breadwinner of their family. The fund administration also studies each case separately to determine whether giving a loan is justified. Khalid Abu Rashid, a lawyer in Jeddah, said he receives such cases three or four times a week. He said this is because most women have little idea about the law and trust their husbands far too much. The majority of such women tend to be teachers or doctors. These working women, he said, tend to help their husbands financially but they often become victims because of their ignorance. Abu Rashid said there is no harm if wives help their husbands out, but they should keep things in writing, especially when it comes to property. “The problem is that women do not keep such papers and then it gets difficult to prove what belongs to them,” he said. Asked what help there is for women to reclaim their rights, he said, “The strongest case is that in which the woman has a signed paper. If there is no signed agreement, then there should be check receipts or other documentation proving that money was handed to the husband.” He added, “Witnesses can also be a strong point. If none of these are available then the woman can ask the ex-husband to take an oath in court.” However, he said that such men never hesitate to take false oaths. __
