JEDDAH — Nearly 84,000 lawsuits concerning alimony and child custody have been filed since family courts were established in the Kingdom about seven months ago, the Justice Ministry announced.
It said 43,000 of these cases pertained to alimony claims and 41,000 were regarding child custody disputes between parents.
Riyadh, with 1,122 cases, topped all other cities in alimony lawsuits followed by Jeddah, which had 768 cases and then Makkah with 394 cases. Riyadh also topped other cities in child custody cases with 1,046, followed by Jeddah's 764 cases and Makkah with 473 cases.
A source at the Jeddah Family Affairs Court said most family lawsuits involved men who refused to pay alimony to their ex-wives or prevented them from visiting their children.
The source, who did not want to be identified, said alimony and child custody cases have increased significantly following the ministry's decision to grant divorced women the right of guardianship over their children.
He said family affairs courts deal with all sorts of family issues including divorce, khula (women demanding divorce in lieu of relinquishing their marital rights), alimony, child custody, visitation rights and others.
"Since their establishment in August 2014, these courts have issued a large number of verdicts in favor of women and have expedited adjudication of family cases," he said.
Suhaila Zain Al-Abdeen, a social activist and member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) strongly lauded the Justice Ministry's decision to grant divorced women guardianship of their children and said it has helped women in fighting for their rights.
