Saudi Juliet demands right to marry Yemeni Romeo
30 Nov AFP
A young Saudi woman urged a Yemeni court to let her stay and marry
the man she loves, defying norms in both deeply conservative countries.
In a case reminiscent of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers Romeo and
Juliet, Huda al-Niran, 22, defied her family and crossed the border
illegally to be with her beloved.As she pleaded her case to be able to
stay and marry Arafat Mohammed Tahar, 25, her supporters demonstrated
outside the Sanaa courthouse, sporting headbands proclaiming "We are all
Huda." The lovers' plight has gripped imaginations in both Yemen and
Saudi Arabia, where the young woman's courage is seen as astonishing.She
not only went against the wishes of her family, who said she could not
marry Tahar, but also dared to flee the country and follow him to
Yemen.But Huda did accept to be represented by a lawyer appointed by a
Yemeni non-government organisation called Hood, who said he hoped for a
favourable outcome.
"This is a humanitarian case, and must not raise tensions between the
two countries," lawyer Abdel Rakib al-Qadi told AFP.He indicated that
Sanaa had come under pressure from the Saudi authorities to ensure
Huda's return.She is currently under arrest and on trial for illegal
entry. If found guilty, she faces expulsion. No decision was announced
on Sunday, and the court set the next hearing for December 1 as it
awaited a UN High Commissioner for Refugees ruling on a request for
asylum.A UNHCR representative confirmed to AFP that Huda had initiated
proceedings to be granted refugee status in Yemen.If she succeeds, it
will be difficult for the authorities in Yemen to expel her.
Huda's case has also come to the attention of the New York-based
Human Rights Watch.On November 19, HRW urged Yemen not to repatriate her
and to take into consideration the fact that returning to her family
could put her life at risk.Ă“She fears physical harm from her family
members, whom she said have beaten her in the past, if she is returned
to Saudi Arabia," HRW said in a statement. |
