The Saudi Gazette reports on a bizarre legal battle that ensued after a 37-year-old woman from Madina asked permission to marry and her father refused – apparently on the grounds that her proposed husband was a foreigner from a neighbouring Arab country (even though he belonged to the same tribe).

The daughter took her father to court, claiming 'adhal (denial of the right to marry). The judge threw out her case, on the grounds that the father had put forward a number of suitors which the daughter rejected.

The daughter counters that her rejection of them was reasonable: one was "morally objectionable", another had "a skin disease" and "some of the others are married".

The father then retaliated with a case claiming uqouq (disobedience towards parents). One of the woman's brothers is also threatened with prosecution for supporting her.

The woman, meanwhile, has fled the kingdom along with several of her brothers. The Saudi Gazette says:

The father, according to the terms of his court complaint, is demanding the return of his daughter from abroad and her punishment, as well as confiscation of her passport and a ban on her travelling abroad. The complaint states that he is "worried she might marry a non-Saudi while she is away". 

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 13 Dec 2010.