AFTER the ruling of the appeals court upholding the divorce of Fatima and Mansour on Jan. 28 around 20 such cases have been filed to this day.

One of the latest cases is of a newly-wed couple from Dareen near Qatif in the Eastern Province.

After three months of marriage A.W. and H.S (names withheld by The Saudi Gazette on the couple's request) were summoned by Dhahran police to verify the husband's tribal status.

"I was called to Dhahran police station by my wife's half-brother and my father-in-law's uncle to present proof of my ancestry," A.W. told The Saudi Gazette.

A.W. was instructed to provide a letter of notification from his tribal sheikh to verify his tribal status. A.W. told the head of police that his tribe is well-known in Buraidah.

"I told them that my father has lived in the Eastern Province for over 60 years. I am a city man who hasn't gone back to Buraidah, so how can I go to the desert and find the tribal sheikh to get a letter to satisfy them? If they want a letter they can go to Buraidah and get it themselves," said A.W.

However, what is surprising in this case is that both parties A.W. and H.S. are from high status tribes with previous marriages between the two families.

H.S., 2 is one-month pregnant. She was married off to A.W. with her mother's and brothers' consent. However, her half-brothers and father's uncle disapproved of the matrimony.

H.S. and her family believe that the claim of unequal tribal status is just a cover-up for an inheritance dispute between the elder half-brothers and H.S. and her siblings who were orphaned at a young age.

The couple's court hearing is scheduled for March 6.