Saudi court helps woman tie the knot without father's consent

Move comes after father of the bride-to-be refuses all her marriage proposals

DUBAI/KARACHI:

In a rare development, a Saudi court helped a woman married without her father’s approval as it found that he refused all men proposed to her, according to Gulf News.

Under Saudi customary law, every Saudi woman is required to have a male guardian, often her father. The guardian has the power to make a range of critical decisions for a woman.

The woman complaint that her father refuses all her marriage proposals. The Sharia court ordered the transfer of the guardianship of the father to a Sharia guardian.

The woman, and the man who proposed to her, attended the court hearing where he told the judge that he wanted to marry her. The father, who was called to attend the hearing, failed to show up.

The Saudi Ministry of Justice announced that the court issued its judgement in five days as per regulations by the Supreme Judiciary Council to speed up the Sharia Court’s rulings on such cases.

Earlier, the kingdom said that it will ease key restrictions on millions of foreign workers, under reforms to its labour policy that is blamed for widespread abuses and exploitation.

Human rights groups have repeatedly called on the kingdom to abolish its "kafala" sponsorship system.

The Saudi human resources and social development ministry said that from March 14, expatriates will no longer need their employers' authorisation to change jobs, travel or leave Saudi Arabia, which is home to some 10 million foreigners.

"This initiative will improve and increase the efficiency of the work environment," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The reforms, if fully implemented, could have a big impact on the Saudi labour market and the lives of blue-collar foreign workers who lack effective recourse against overcrowded housing and exploitative employers.

The story originally appeared in Gulf News