3 days ago
Freedom at Last : Court grants Bahraini woman irrevocable divorce after three years' abandonment
After three years of abandonment, a Bahraini woman has won an irrevocable divorce after the Second Supreme Jaffari Sharia Court of Appeal ruled that her husband's desertion, remarriage, and refusal to mend the marriage had caused her clear harm.
Lawyer Zainab Madan explained how her client had been left without support or contact since August 2022. She was neither properly married nor able to move on with her life.
The court heard that she was forced out of the marital home, shut off from any attempt at contact, and accused of adultery.
Payment Demands
Meanwhile, her husband remarried and demanded payment in exchange for a divorce.
Appeal judges found that the court of first instance had mishandled the case and overlooked the evidence presented.
Witnesses described how the husband severed all ties, blocked the woman on every means of communication, and left her to manage alone.
Attempts at Reconciliation
She had tried, through third parties, to broker peace or restore the marriage, but was met with silence.
The panel found the husband's actions fell short of what is required under Jaffari law, where abandonment and withdrawal of support are grounds for ending a marriage.
Article 98(b) of Bahrain's Family Law allows a woman to seek divorce if she is left, without cause, in such a state.
Court's Conclusion
The court held that his conduct left her exposed to hardship and isolation.
With no witnesses brought by the respondent, the court ordered that the divorce take effect once the judgment is final, with an official divorce certificate to be issued.
The waiting period begins once the ruling stands, and the divorce must be declared in the wording prescribed by Jaffari law.
