Haifa Al-Zahrani Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Courts all over the Kingdom looked into 5,519 marriage annulment cases since the beginning of this Hijri year. Makkah province led the way with 2,165 cases, followed by Riyadh at 1,425 and the Eastern Province at 695, according to a Ministry of Justice report posted on its website. In Madinah there were 376 cases while in Al-Qassim the courts looked into 212 cases, Tabuk 190 cases, Hail 86 cases, Najran 57 cases and the Northern Borders 54 cases, the report added. Al-Baha province came bottom of the list with 22 cases, noted the report. Earlier, the ministry published a report on the number of cases where the male guardian refused to allow a woman under his custody to get married. The practice is called Adhl in Islam. Riyadh city topped the list of Adhl cases at 71, followed by Jeddah with 58 cases Makkah with 37, Dammam with 22, Madinah with 16, Hofuf with eight, Qatif and Abha both with six, Taif and Al-Kharj both with five, Sakaka four cases, Buraidah three cases, and Unaizah with one case only, according to the report. Ahmad Al-Almaee, lawyer and legal consultant, told Saudi Gazette that Islam had given women their full rights in contrast with some man-made laws that deprive women of their basic rights. He said he regretted the fact that some regions have these Adhl cases.
