The Story of Fatmia and Mansour

Having described the dreadful events resulting from the gang-rape of the "Qatif girl" in my last post, I decided that I should also write about the case of "Fatima and Mansour". This case also caused a lot of comment, even outrage, amongst the Saudi public.

To understand this case, you must understand that tribal loyalties and affiliations are still very strong in the modern Saudi Arabia. A Lebanese friend says that Saudis classify themselves as being either "110" or "220". This is a reference to the electricity supply; the ordinary mains is 110 volts, but some buildings are wired with a 220 volt supply.

If a Saudi can trace his lineage back to one of the Bedouin tribes of the desert, then he is said to be tribal and looks down on the ordinary Saudis who are descended from the Arabs of the towns and cities.

There is a third option; everybody looks down on the resident of Jizan (a province in the South West of the country). The dialing cope for Jizan is "07", so if you are a Saudi, you are either 220 (i.e. tribal), 110 (i.e. non-tribal) or 07 (from Jizan).

Leaving that aside, I will return to Fatima and Mansour. They were a happily married couple with a young family. Unfortunately, Fatima's half-brothers didn't like Mansour and accused him of lying about his tribal background. (Even if you are tribal, some tribes have more status than others.)

According to this report from Arab News:-

Mansour has repeatedly denied that he lied about his tribal background. “They (Fatima’s male relatives) asked about me and even came to visit me at my work in Al-Jouf where I lived at the time,” he said in a previous interview with Arab News.

While Fatima's father was still alive her half-brothers could do nothing. Unfortunately, he became terminally ill and gave his sons the power of attorney.

The half-brothers used their new authority to apply to a court to have Fatima and Mansour's wedding annulled. Fatima and Mansour were not informed of the proceedings and the brother's application was granted in their absence!

When the couple learnt about the ruling they initially went on the run. They were eventually captured by the police and imprisoned in Dammam for living together while not married to each other.

Eventually, the authorities decided to release them but Fatima refused to return to her family:-

In an interview with Arab News in November, Fatima said she was remaining in prison by her own choice; she refused to return to the custody of her family. (Women of any age in Saudi Arabia require a legal male guardian, or mahram, who could be either their husbands or other male relatives.) “I’m leaving this place on one condition only: That I go back to my husband,” she told Arab News.

She also said that she feared her brothers would mistreat her children who they regarded as being inferior. As of now, Fatima remains in Dammam prison with her youngest child, while Mansour has custody of their older child. More information on this case can be found here.

It appears that women in Saudi law occupy a place somewhere inbetween children and adults. On the one hand they cannot be responsible for themselves but must be in the care of an adult male relative. On the other hand they are regarded as being responsible for their actions and are punished for them up to and including the death penalty.