Saudi men have the habit of saving their wives' mobile telephone numbers under a variety of pseudonyms and titles to avoid them being detected by prying eyes, but one husband of 17 years found himself in hot water with his better half when she discovered that she had been recorded on his names list under the less than flattering “Guantanamo”. According to a report in Al-Watan Sunday, “Umm Ahmed” took the “derogatory, hurtful and intolerable” nomenclature as insinuating that she was “bossy”, and saw in it sufficient reason to ask for a divorce, or at least the payment of some from of financial compensation to “serve as a lesson”. “Our relationship of 17 years has been based on deception and deceit and he in no way has the right to call me by disrespectful and provocative names,” Umm Ahmed told Al-Watan, which did not specify when the brouhaha took place. Not all wives take it so seriously, however. Umm Haitham assured that while some names might anger the wives of the men concerned, others could be regarded as having more humorous content. “The husband of a friend of mine apparently has her saved as “Thorn in my side”, but she saw the funny side,” Umm Haitham said. Another Saudi man has his wife under “Salary”, due to her “unrestrained spending at the end of the month on the children and housekeeping”. Husband and mobile telephone user Khalid Al-Maliki told Al-Watan that the measures were required to avoid their wives' telephone numbers falling into the hands of the wrong people. “My friends often get hold of my telephone, so if I use these names I can rest assured that others won't get hold of my wife's number even by accident,” Khalid said. As ever, an expert was on hand to provide Al-Watan with further insight into the issues, in this case Associate Professor of Psychology at the Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh Mohammed Al-Mutawwi': “Good and sensible husbands do not do this sort of thing, as they could affect the marital relationship,” Al-Mutawwi' said. “Things could build up and create a distance between the couple leading to what is termed ‘emotional coldness'.” Al-Mutawwi' added that many husbands were not aware of the effects of actions such as these, which could “sow the seeds of divorce”. Husbands should instead, Al-Mutawwi' added, use symbols or names on their telephones that serve to strengthen the relationship and bonds of love between the couple, before also warning husbands against using derogatory pet names in a similar fashion at home. “If the children hear the father use them in front of them it could affect them in the future.” Sociologist Abdul Aziz Al-Asmari told Al-Watan that husbands turned to these different names out of caution, but insisted that they be “kind and non-hurtful to the wife”. “The husband-wife relationship should be built on love, compassion and understanding and an acceptance of the other person in every way,” Al-Asmari said.
