Princess Adela Bint Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has taken up the case of Fatimah, a Saudi girl disowned by her father ten years ago. During the third regional conference for protection of children here on Tuesday, Princess Adela said authorities should force Fatimah's father to undergo the DNA test he has been refusing to take ever since the case came to light. In her quest for legitimacy, Faitmah has approached several associations and the Arabic and English media. “Princess Adela confirmed that Fatimah had a right to have her real family name,” said Haif'a Khalid, Saudi journalist and creator of the Saudi Divorce Initiative website. Fatimah, she said, delivered a letter to Princess Adela asking her to force her father to undergo the DNA test. Awad Al-Qahtani, Fatimah's eldest brother, said all papers confirming her rights have been submitted to Princess Adela. She has promised us that she will take care of the issue,” Al-Qahtani added. “My mother will waiver all her legitimate rights if my father acknowledges his paternity of Fatimah or if he undergoes the DNA test,” he said. The mother and an uncle of Fatimah have moved the court to order the DNA test of the father who refused to give his name to the girl after accusing his wife of adultery. The disowning of the girl stems from the deep marital discord between the man and his wife, said Haif'a Khalid “Fatimah's mother, 48, has nine children from her 70-year old husband. The husband treated her badly, beat her and threw her out of the house. She asked for a divorce which was granted in 1983,” said Khalid. Although Fatimah's mother remarried her former husband, he has continued to mistreat her. “She agreed to remarry her former husband in order to save her family, hoping to have a better life with him after five years of divorce. But nothing changed,” added Khalid.
