Being a divorcee is, of course, a difficult situation for any woman, but what makes it worse is to be a non-Saudi woman getting a divorce from a Saudi husband. Many non-Saudi wives fear that they will be required to leave the Kingdom without their children. This fear has forced many women to live an unhappy domestic life. Aysha Saleh, a Syrian mother of six, was divorced six months ago and ever since she is living under constant fear of leaving the Kingdom without her children once her Iqama expires. “I love my children. The eldest is only 8 years and they still need the care of their mother,” Said Aysha Saleh. Aysha's husband refuses to let her stay in the Kingdom. He is also preventing her from taking the children along with her to her country. “The financial situation of my family back home is really bad and I can't take six children with me without any financial support from my husband. I am really lost and I don't know what to do,” She added. The governmental authority responsible for such situations is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they have strict rules that ban the non-Saudi mothers to stay even if they have Saudi children. “The rules were created to help the society but there is no harm to amend any rule if it's better for the society,” said the head of social supervision in the Ministry of Social Affairs in Makkah region, Norah Aal Al sheikh, in an earlier interview with Saudi Gazette. Unofficial statistics show that the Ministry of Interior receives at least 1,480 marriage application every month followed by around 2,100 cases of divorce for non-Saudi wives each year. According to Azza AboBakor, sociologist from king Abdul Aziz University, the government should reconsider the special cases and allow non-Saudi divorced women to live in the Kingdom under certain conditions. “If the mother is divorced and is not allowed to see or take her children with her to her country she should have an Iqama,” said AboBakor. “Her Iqama can be withdrawn if she gets married or violates the laws of the land.” According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, a solution to this lingering problem will not only benefit mothers but will help in having a stable generation that won't have any negative effects on the society. “It's hard to know that your mother is alive and you cannot live with her or even see her just because she is a non-Saudi,” Said Ayman Basheikh, son of an Egyptian divorcee, who did not see his mothers for 5 years. __
