Saudi Arabia: Treatment of women in general and situation of women who divorce, whether in Saudi Arabia or overseas and then return to Saudi Arabia
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 March 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SAU4562 SAU4563 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Saudi Arabia: Treatment of women in general and situation of women who divorce, whether in Saudi Arabia or overseas and then return to Saudi Arabia, 1 March 1990, SAU4562 SAU4563, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac494c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the particular case of women who divorce their husbands overseas and then return to Saudi Arabia could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. The information on divorce found and attached to this response does not appear to differentiate between cases of divorce which took place within or outside the Saudi Arabian borders.
Please find attached a number of documents which discuss the requested subjects. Some of these documents do not include all the information available on the subject in the particular publication, but may help to locate that or other sources among your region's libraries. The article from the Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs provides a significant bibliography which may be useful, too. In addition to the attached documents, the United States National Geographic Society's magazine, National Geographic, in its October 1987 issue (pages 423-453), includes the article "Women of Saudi Arabia". The magazine is not available at the IRBDC in Ottawa, but should available at many public and university libraries of your region.
According to Constitutions of the Countries of the World: Saudi Arabia, (New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1979), Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries in the world that does not have a modern constitution, but regards the Koran (also written as Quran) as its constitution and Sharia law is enforced. According to Le Monde Arabe Au Féminin, p. 42 (not attached), Saudi Arabia is one of the Moslem countries where female "circumcision" is practised. For a brief reference to discrimination based on sex, you may wish to refer to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1989), section on Saudi Arabia, available at your regional Documentation Centre. Unfortunately, the publications corresponding Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: Human Rights Watch, July 1989), does not contain an assessment of the Country Reports' chapter on Saudi Arabia. For a more complete overview of the situation of women in Saudi Arabia and references to divorce in that country, please see the attached documents. These include:
-Arab Women, (London: Minority Rights Group, 1983), p. 9;
-"The New Arab Woman: fact or feminist fantasy?", in The Middle East, pp. 5-10;
-Le Monde Arabe Au Féminin, (Paris: Editions L'Harmattan, 1988), pp. 7-15, 76-81;
-Femmes d'Islam ou le sexe interdit, (Paris: Denoël, 1980), pp. 36-37, 61-69;
-Women in Muslim Family Law, (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1982), pp. 28-39;
-"Current Status of Literature on Muslim Women: A Case Study", in Journal (Institute of Muslim Minority Rights), January 1989,
pp. 171-198.