Down with the Tribe

After four years of suffering, the Supreme Court in Riyadh has finally put an end to the plight of Fatima al-Azzaz and Mansour al-Taimani, the couple who were forcibly divorced at the request of Fatima’s brothers for tribal reasons. According to the couple’s lawyer Ahmed al-Sudairi, the Supreme Court has reversed the ruling of Jouf Court that divorced Fatima and Mansour.

Abdulrahman al-Lahem, the couple’s former lawyer, wrote in his blog that he was pleased by the news. Al-Lahem hoped that the ruling would usher a serious beginning for an institutional reform of the judicial system in Saudi Arabia. He also praised the role of media and blogs in highlighting cases like this one.

Personally, I’m happy to see this issue come to a happy ending. Mansour, Fatima, and their children have literally gone through hell over the past four years, and it’s a relief to see the family finally come together again. This is a victory not just for them and their lawyers, but for all human rights activists in the country who supported their cause.

In the words of Fouzia al-Oyouni, it is “a victory for the nation over the tribe.”

PS. I’m not officially back, but I could not not blog about this.

10 thoughts on “Down with the Tribe

  1. A nice unofficial return post. As well as the individual positives of this case, it does speak to the nation over the tribe, or more precisely the family, and in favour of a positive resolution through the Saudi legal system.

  2. Nice design and congratulations for the couple.
    I couldn’t help but smile at how things are starting to revolutionize in Saudi.. the people are no longer quiet, and its not just virtual.

    Welcome back, even if its unofficial ;)

  3. this is great news, but I still think 4 years is waaaaay too long to wait to revoke a ludicrous event. if bureaucracy was dusted a bit this family might have been reunited sooner than 48 months

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