Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — A marriage of convenience between a man and woman is solemnized in Saudi Arabia with only two witnesses, which is the minimum number required by the Shariah, in attendance. The union is not authenticated by a court or government body and it is almost always used to achieve personal gains, a local daily reported. While the legal and religious validity of such a union is in doubt, men and women are turning to marriages of convenience for a variety of reasons. One woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she was married at the age 16 to a man who was 25 years her senior. The marriage did not last long as the man's first wife forced him to divorce her. The woman went on to remarry twice again. “After my third marriage failed, I decided to live independently and moved out of the family house. A friend suggested that I seek a marriage of convenience and I married a businessman in the presence of two witnesses. Less than a month later, he divorced me," she said. An Arab woman who comes from a poor background said she had entered into marriages of convenience with five Saudi men so she could live a decent life and avoid committing sins. The men in such marriages are typically well off, over the age of 35 and married to at least another woman. “They could be prominent officials or business figures and usually seek divorced, beautiful expatriate women," said a Jeddah-based matchmaker. Some of the men have family problems and seek marriages of convenience to escape their troubles but some of them are in it for other reasons. "I have received marriage requests from an Arab man who had been married six times and an Indonesian man who just ended his 12th marriage," said the matchmaker. “The women who agree to such marriages are either divorced with children or considered too old for marriage. We have scouts who go to places where large groups of women gather, such as wedding halls, salons and gyms. Once a woman matches a client's requirements, they will approach the woman and broach the subject with her," she added. Dr. Ghazi Al-Mutairi, a professor at the Islamic University of Madinah, said marriage of convenience is subject to personal views, interpretations and motives but stopped short of calling it illegal. Faisal Shaikh, a judge in Madinah, on the other hand said such a union is illegal as it does not require one to obtain approval of the woman's legal guardian. Dr. Fawziyah Al-Subhi, assistant professor of psychology at Taibah University, said women who resort to such marriages often end up with psychological problems and warned that the risk of catching sexually transmitted diseases was higher. “Contrary to common belief, such marriages exploit people in bad situations and make women feel insecure. Pregnancies from such a union will lead to illegal abortions or children who cannot obtain a legal status," she said.
