Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Foreigners offering daughters for "rent marriage" in Saudi Arabia

Source: Al-Zawaj Al-Urufi: A marriage of convenience
The Saudi Government doesn't allow unlicensed weddings with foreigners.

Choice quote:

...

Kamal Muhammad, an IT teacher at a boys’ school in Madinah, said such marriages cost no more than SR10,000. “I learned about them from a friend who arranged an appointment for me with an expatriate man who was looking for a husband for his daughter,” he said.

The father showed me three of his daughters and asked me to choose one. He made a condition that the dowry should be no less than SR7,000 and that I should stay with her at the same house,” he said.

He added that after agreeing to the condition he made his choice. “The father brought a sheikh who was of his own nationality to write the contract. I paid them SR5,000 and promised to give the remainder of the money later. We then underwent a wedding party that was attended by the bride’s mother and other close relatives. I never expected things to move so fast and to be married within a few minutes for such a small amount of money,” he said.

Kamal said his father-in-law also asked him to pay SR600 each month for his wife’s upkeep. “Of course I readily agreed. Where can you find such a young and beautiful wife?” he said.

He, however, divorced his wife after five months after he came to know such marriages were common trade among some foreigners. “She won’t lose any time and will remarry the next day,” he added.

Saudi businessman Ghazi said he has unofficially married and divorced a number of expatriate women. “My Saudi wife is the principal of a school; her work is her priority. I do not want to have a normal second marriage and all the responsibilities that come with it such as setting up another home and having children,” he said. “I want a woman who spoils me and makes me happy. So I’ve married five foreign ladies in this unofficial way. These marriages are cheap and nor do I need to rent a home. I just live with them at their own homes,” he said.

Ghazi said his five wives were of different nationalities. He added that the “best” was an African woman from Chad.

...

Women who undergo nikahs with Saudi men without official recognition from the state usually lose their legal rights as wives in the eyes of the law.

...

there is little that can be done to legalize “unofficial” marriages conducted in the Kingdom.


Is this the Saudi version of Bed&Breakfast? A Bed, Breakfast and daughter in your bed? Room, board and sex.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, everything has a price and a reason. So it's a contractual relationship. What's the problem? We have contracts for services and their fulfilment. Why should human relationships differ? It's the nature of the society's restrictions that give rise to these inventive solutions. The father is unable to keep his marriageable aged daughter and this is an option open for consideration. What right do you have to mock or criticise the choices that people make for themselves? Go wash your face and pay attention to your own life.

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  2. Albere:
    A. How do you know that their age is "right"?
    B. What choices do these daughters have? It's sexual slavery managed and profited by parents!
    C. Human relationship differ because we are not born slave, every human being has a will of his own - for foreign young girls in Saudi Arabia - there are no rights!
    D. "Unable to keep" - The father lives off of his daughters. He's a pimp.
    E. "What right...mock" - I did not mock. I presented a news story from Saudi Arabia and presented my view of it. The "Choices" you refer to here, I explained my criticism in points A-D. I have a right to say and write what I want, that's my right.
    F. "Wash your face", I'm sure it's an insulting expression from whatever culture you come from. I live in the free world and pay attention to everything that comes my way. Sex slavery is wrong and I will not ignore it.

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