Thousands victims of Tourism Marriage in Thamar Governorate

Thamar  Governorate has recently seen an alien phenomenon that is incompatible with  Islamic principles and threatens the future of  the family structure.

The latest statistics showed an  increase in “Tourism marriages” in Thamar Governorate  at both the rural and urban levels  as a result of  a number of factors, the most prominent  among them  are the financial needs of the parents and the absence of parents’ religious commitment   towards girls who fall victim to this type of marriage which tends to lasts  for only a month or two, and sometimes may last for only one week.
 
The rate of these marriages is high despite the clear motives behind the unethical type of marriage. Nuha conducted an interview with some of the victims of marriage tourism.

We have  persuaded Remas, one of the victims of  marriage tourism to talk  about her painful experience. She told us that the tragedy that hurt her most is her five  year old  child Mohammed’s situation.  His father left him before his first birthday.  She explained that the disaster is not in the abandonment from her husband, but  her endeavor   to probate the paternity of their child and the struggle to preserve the recognized rights of her child. 

 Remas got involved with us and explained her   suffering from the marriage in order to show others how not to fall in the trap, which is primarily set by Arab expatriates. She said  that she was very happy during the first week of her marriage to Ahmed, a Saudi businessman,  and   that their marriage appeared to be like any other but her husband told her  that he was compelled to travel for  an urgent concern.  She dismissed the issue as natural and assumed he would return in the near future, but his departure was of no return, leaving behind a tragedy that continued to cause pain and suffering.

Farah, the second victim of this phenomenon said that her   father told her from the outset that she will get married for a certain period that will be decided by the husband, due to her father’s urgent need for money.  She said that her father sold her and she didn’t have the power to refuse. He didn’t take her feelings and rights into account in such a marriage.  The marriage lasted for three months and he went back to his country (Dubai) and left her pregnant. He did care or support  his child. He didn’t leave any papers to prove  his paternity to the child. Farah gave birth to her child Amjad a month ago and has given us  his  photograph to be published.

Fifteen year Abeer’s story is the same as that of  Farah’s and Remas. She said, “ he married me for a week and left me in a hotel. I had to call my father to come and get me. I am in a continuous nightmare because this marriage has destroyed my future, however time may make me forget and I told this story so that others so that they would not have to go through the same experience.

We interviewed Judge Ahmed Ali al-Mujahid, member of the Yemen Scholars’ Society, the permanent committee member and the preacher of Ishak’s mosque in Thamar.

Nuha, - What is the scholars’ view on marriage tourism  and  what are the reasons behind its prevalence?

Scholar,  the legitimate marriage, which is explained by the Prophets and Messenger, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, peace be upon him,  is the one which meets the correct marriage contract terms. They are:

The guardian, the dowry, the two witnesses of good character and acceptance, regardless of the current  modern names given to marriage, whether it is temporary, tourist or under any other name. 

The fun marriage is forbidden  by  the  prophet’s Hadith. And the risk of tourist marriages could be disastrous and evil on women in the  first  place and in  most cases turns into   (fun) marriage and when it comes from outside the country, specifically when it  tempts those with weak and dead consciences to expose their daughters,  making them goods for the highest bidders. The  rich   foreign  husbands hide their real purpose and intentions  to marry the girls for only one month  changing such marriages into “fun marriages”, which is religiously forbidden.

- What are the consequences of the marriage tourism in terms of Islamic law?

The consequences of marriage tourism deprives the wife and her children of legitimate rights of paternity, the denial from inheritance of her husband after his death and the deprivation of the wife and children of alimony and dependency due to lack of legal documentation of the marriage contract before the relevant bodies of the couple, which deprives it of Islamic  legality before   the Arab courts and Embassies.

- Are there any legal safeguard controls which guarantee  the rights of the wife and her children?

-  Yes, there are several controls, including;  preventing legal  trustees not to edit any marriage contract  from Arab citizens to Yemeni woman unless certain binding conditions are met, including  the agreement of the  embassy to  which the husband belongs  sealed by the specialized courts of husband’s country.  This agreement is submitted to the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs for  coordination with the  Embassy of the husband.

There should be an official approval from the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs  for the marriage of the Arab husband who wants to marry a Yemeni women so as  to preserve the women’s rights , taking into account the interests of family and to preserve  daughters from being tampered with by playboys.

The legitimate and legal controls that are guaranteed in our personal status law must be taken into account.

Judge Abdulsalam Abdullah al-Banos, chairman of  Registration Department at Thamar Primary East Court said.

He said that this phenomenon has spread greatly in 2009 – 2010,  adding that  the cases received amounted to over 2,057, adding that they warn parents of  ruining  the lives of their children  and to take into account the legal controls to maintain their rights’ from being tampered with. 

-  In your opinion, why don’t  the affected women go to  the judiciary?

For fear of being killed or discredited in society.  The main reason is the fear of being disgraced.

We recommend that our  Yemeni women go to the court and should have no fear. And by so doing they will be help by those of their own gender. They should be confident that justice  grants them their rights  and that it would give them their due rights, so as not to be victims to recklessness from any nationality  be it Arab or otherwise. They should know that the law will be with them and would be a deterrent to those who would undermine them and that they must first help themselves by resorting to the judiciary and  help us to limit this illegal phenomenon.

We asked lawyer Mohammed Lutf al-Dafini if there are any legal texts that punish those who undertake procedures of such marriages

He said that there no legal texts for this type of marriage, asserting that on the contrary article (15) approves such marriage contract. This explains why there is not yet an end to such marriage contracts. There are just prohibitions that don’t mention punishments. Article 20 stipulates no punishment but only prohibitions .

Have you adopted any cases?

Very few because of the long court procedures and  the families  lack of economic income that enables them to follow these long  expensive procedures.

The  President of the Federation of Yemeni Women Ramzia al-Iriani   noted  that the main reason for this phenomenon is  attributed to the greed of parents which makes them throw their daughters into undesirable situations.

In your opinion, why do Yemeni women not resort to the courts  ?

The first reason is society’s perception of such women and secondly the reputation they would carry.  Their families often don’t  support them after such an incident. Another reason is  the vulnerability of women because of poverty and illiteracy as well as the lack of material income needed to go to the courts. A third reason is that there are some  cases that  resort to the judiciary but  the official  position of their spouse  in the State does not guarantee the success of  their cause.

 - Is there anything you might do to help empower the rights of these victimized women?

-   After Eid we will launch a campaign for women’s rights,  to ensure the victims of tourism marriage›s right to inherit  and be treated justly.

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