Mother and daughter’s feud over house ends up in Abu Dhabi court

The Egyptian mother said she was granted the house by Sheikh Zayed after divorcing the Emirati father of her seven children. But now her daughter was harassing her to leave the property.

ABU DHABI // A family feud ended up in the courtroom on Monday with a mother appealing against her conviction for verbally and physically assaulting her own daughter.

W S, from Egypt, had also filed a counter lawsuit against her child S S, an Emirati, for the same charges.

Both had been convicted by the Court of First Instance and given one-month suspended sentences.

On Monday, W S told the Court of Appeal that S S had been continually harassing and insulting her since 2005.

In the latest incident, S S, 30, and her father, whom W S was divorced from, visited W S’s house.

They sat in the front yard and shouted insults at W S. When the mother tried to stop them leaving, S S attacked her with a knife, cutting her fingers and legs.

“Then my eldest daughter called the ambulance and we filed a police report,” said W S.

She denied insulting or hitting S S.

“She was the one who was always insulting and attacking me, I don’t even talk to her anymore,” she said.

“She threatens to kick me out of the house and get me deported, so she keeps filing police reports against me.”

W S said S S had filed seven lawsuits against her so far.

“Even after the last verdict was announced she complained again against me again, but the case was dropped by prosecutors,” said W S.

She pleaded with the court to annul the one-month suspended sentence handed to her by the Court of First Instance. “She will continue to accuse me and one of these times I might have to serve the sentence.”

W S explained that she had divorced S S’s father, an Emirati, when her seven children were still young.

“So I went to Sheikh Zayed’s diwan and I was granted a house in Bani Yas, but under the name of my children because they are UAE citizens and I am not.”

She added that her daughter was determined that she leave the house.

“I have three children who are still not married and I am responsible for them,” she said.

S S was the second oldest of her offspring.

As well as her suspended sentence, W S was also fined Dh2,000 for the verbal insults and Dh2,000 for the physical attack.

S S was also given a Dh7,000 fine for damaging her sister’s car and the doors to her mother’s home.

S S was not present in court yesterday.

The judge adjourned the case until June 9.

“If you reconcile with your daughter before then, please notify the court,” he said.