Fear of First Wife Leads to Divorce for Bahraini Man Who Abandoned Family Abroad

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

The High Sharia Appeals Court has granted a divorce to an Arab woman who was sent to her home country to give birth and subsequently abandoned by her Bahraini husband. According to the court records, the woman married the defendant in 2019 and gave birth to a baby girl in 2020.

Fearing repercussions from his first wife, the Bahraini man sent the Arab woman back to her home after convincing her that it would be better to be among her family members to receive full care and support from them. "He told me to stay until I give birth to the child, and then I would return back," the woman told judges at the High Sharia Court. "However, he stopped answering my calls and responding to my messages."

The woman's lawyer Mohammed Al Thawadhi argued before the court that the defendant neglected his financial and legal obligations despite repeated attempts to contact him and urge him to facilitate her return, including obtaining a passport for their daughter and a residency permit for herself. "He cited concerns about his first wife as the reason for his inaction," the lawyer told the court.

This left the woman and her sick daughter, who required specialised medical care, stranded without proper documentation for hospital visits, financial support, or a legal guardian. Despairing of his response, and fearing for her health and rights, the woman filed an urgent lawsuit seeking custody of her daughter, child support, and suitable housing. A lower court granted her custody and ordered child and spousal support payments of 70 and 80 Bahraini dinars respectively, along with appropriate housing. However, the husband failed to comply.
A subsequent civil court order for the daughter's passport and residency permit also proved unenforceable due to the husband's non-cooperation. Attempts at reconciliation failed, forcing the woman to file for divorce based on Articles 98 and 106 (paragraph 2) of the Family Law. The lower court rejected the divorce petition, leading to the appeal.

"The lower court's ruling was flawed, ignoring evidence of the husband's non-payment of support (as evidenced by court orders and enforcement letters) and his desertion. The husband's failure to facilitate her return and obtain necessary documents for his daughter constituted desertion, justifying a mandatory divorce," Al Thawadhi insisted.

The appeals court ultimately annulled the lower court's decision, granting the woman a divorce and ordering the issuance of an official divorce certificate.