The General Court in Anaizah has sanctioned the marriage of two Saudi women to a Saudi and an Arab expatriate despite their guardians' objections due to “social reasons.” According to Al-Hayat daily, Mansour Al-Jutaili, the lawyer representing the women, said: “The first girl waited for eight years to marry the man, but her guardian wouldn't permit the marriage. The court refused to hear her case in 2003, but judge Khalifa Al-Tamimi reopened the case upon her request.” Al-Jutaili said the judge himself completed the marriage procedures in lieu of her guardian, noting that the verdict had been approved by the Court of Cassation in Riyadh. Al-Jutaili said the second girl was previously unmarried and that her guardian had refused to allow her marriage to an Arab expatriate last year. After taking her case to court, judge Abdullah Al-Besheri approved the union. The legal formalities for the marriage were carried out last year with the necessary consent required from the Ministry of Interior as the groom was a foreigner. Al-Jutaili said the two girls had passed the usual age of marriage due to their guardians' continual rejection of the two men for over a decade. Their objections were based on “purely tribal reasons”, according to Al-Jutaili, who added that both of the women worked and that their parents were interested in their salaries.
