No increase in abandoned women cases, Minister tells FNC

FNC queries Minister of Social Affairs on status of abandoned women and is assured that the numbers are not growing.

Mariam Al Roumi (centre), the Minister of Social Affairs, assured FNC members that the number of cases of abandoned women did not suggest the problem in the UAE was growing. Ravindranath K / The NatioShow more

ABU DHABI // The problem of abandoned women is not widespread, the FNC was told on Tuesday.

Mariam Al Roumi, the Minister of Social Affairs, assured FNC members that the number of cases did not suggest the problem was growing.

“I looked at numbers last night before coming here,” the minister said. “Currently we have 32 cases of abandoned women registered at the ministry.

“We have [more than 92,000] cases registered at the ministry for social benefits. Those abandoned make up 0.035 per cent of that figure. We cannot say it is a phenomenon.”

To qualify for social benefits a woman must prove that she has been abandoned by her husband, which could be done by the husband going to the court and signing a document to state that he has abandoned his wife.

Abandoned women are not divorced under Sharia. The husbands do not live with the wives, and can leave and return as they please. Divorced women have fewer constraints.

She noted that some women have made arrangements with their husbands to pretend they were abandoned in order to get ministry aid, resulting in greater necessity to establish the legitimacy of cases.

An abandoned woman is eligible for a monthly allowance of Dh5,280, not Dh3,000 as the FNC member Mosabeh Al Kitbi (Sharjah) mistakenly thought.

“It is the same amount given to divorcees over the age of 35,” Ms Al Roumi said. “So abandoned women are getting the same amount of benefits – and it is not a phenomenon.”

However, Mr Al Kitbi challenged her figures. He said as soon as he announced that he would raise this question in the FNC, a large number of abandoned women called him.

He said in Dibba alone there were about 42 cases and research by the FNC general secretariat found 151 cases. He said he believed this was merely the tip of the iceberg as many refrained from revealing their abandoned status to society for fear of social stigma, losing custody of their children or being divorced.

“A lot of abandoned women are not registered at the ministry for a number of reasons,” he said. “Today there are a lot of abandoned women in the UAE. If the minister believes this is not a phenomenon, I think it is,” he said.

Mr Al Kitbi said he could understand why the ministry would offer women aid instead of solving the problem by referring them to family guidance centres.

He said in that case, husbands must be given the ultimatum to divorce their wives or return and attend to their needs.

He said the issue needed to be resolved because of the temptations in today’s society. “These cases are there,” he said.

Ms Al Roumi agreed there might be cases of women who have not registered with the ministry.

She said, however, she was talking only in the context of those getting aid, which is the limit of the ministry’s power.

She said an abandoned wife had to prove a case against a husband who fails to pay alimony. To qualify for aid, women should also be unemployed.

“Therefore, they get the same as a divorcee over the age of 35,” she said. “Yes, there may be more cases that we do not know about, but according to ministry figures, we have 32 cases.”

Mr Al Kitbi called for greater cooperation between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice to look into this issue in a broader context.