Sharia sillness divides a family

Fatima- a Saudi woman- was divorced from her husband by decree of a judge at the request of her half-brothers. Neither she nor her husband wanted the divorce. But since her half-brothers are men, their testimony counted more than hers anyway.

Now her husband- who didn't want the divorce any more than she did- can't even call her on the telephone in the prison where she is being kept because she has no male guardian- due to the divorce neither of them wanted

Mansour, her husband (under Sharia, her ex-husband) can visit her for fifteen minutes every week in jail.

She could be set free if she agreed to return to her parents' home. But she refuses to go anywhere except to the home of the man she considers her husband- and who considers her his wife.

She is undertaking legal action to seek redress. The next step in the process could take as much as a year.