Court in UAE grants wife divorce over verbal abuse after 17-year marriage

Eastern Province: The Court of Appeal granted a woman an irrevocable divorce from her husband on the grounds of harm, ending a 17-year marriage in which the couple had two daughters. The court overturned an earlier ruling that had rejected the wife’s request for divorce after accepting witness testimony that she had been subjected to verbal abuse by her husband. Her sister testified that she heard the husband say during a phone call: “Your sister is stupid... take her away and raise her again.” The husband was given an opportunity to call witnesses in support of his defence but ultimately told the court that he had none. The court also confirmed the mother’s custody of the couple’s two daughters and ordered the husband to pay her a deferred dowry of Dh30,000 and a monthly custody fee of Dh600. He was further ordered to pay Dh4,000 a month in maintenance for the two daughters, divided equally between them, as well as Dh60,000 a year as a housing allowance for the custodial home and a one-off furniture allowance of Dh15,000. Wife sought divorce on grounds of harm Court documents stated that the wife filed a case seeking divorce due to harm, custody of her two daughters and payment of her deferred dowry. She also sought financial support relating to the divorce and waiting period, a custody fee, and maintenance covering the daughters’ living and educational needs. She told the court that her husband treated her cruelly and coldly, neglected and abandoned her, and had failed to give her legal rights for years. She also claimed that he did not provide for her and that, three years earlier, he had married another woman and accommodated her in the marital home. She said the situation caused material, psychological and moral harm that made it impossible for the marriage to continue. The Court of First Instance ordered the husband to pay spousal maintenance of Dh2,500 a month, excluding housing, but rejected the remaining requests. Both parties appealed. The wife maintained her request for divorce and financial entitlements, while the husband sought to have the ruling overturned and the case dismissed. Husband denied the allegations In his defence, the husband said he treated his wife well, provided for her and their children, and supplied suitable housing and a maid. He accused his wife of mistreating him, depriving him of his marital rights and repeatedly seeking a divorce whenever disagreements arose. He said he worked in a remote area and claimed his wife had refused either to move there with him or to rent a home near her parents. He also argued that the marital home was a large villa capable of accommodating both wives without causing harm, and said they had lived together there for a month without problems. During the appeals, the court offered both parties an opportunity to settle the dispute, but they failed to reach an agreement. The case was then referred for investigation to allow each side to substantiate its claims. Witnesses testify about alleged insults The wife’s brother attributed the dispute to what he described as the husband’s failure to provide for his sister, his marriage to another woman and his decision to accommodate both wives in the same home, as well as a lack of fairness between them. He also claimed the husband had abandoned his wife in bed for about four years and had called her offensive names, including “uncultured” and “thief”. The wife’s sister testified that the disputes began three years earlier and that the husband stopped providing for his wife and abandoned her. She also confirmed hearing him insult her sister during a phone call, saying: “Your sister is stupid... take her away and raise her all over again.” A friend of the wife told the court that the disputes had begun more than four years earlier. She claimed the husband refused to seek treatment for his wife’s back pain and would not allow her to see a male doctor for jaw pain. She also said he called his wife “stupid” and described her as “not understanding”. The wife’s witnesses rejected the husband’s allegations that she had mistreated him and hosted friends who smoked cigarettes inside the house. The husband’s lawyer requested an adjournment to allow him to bring witnesses, and the court postponed the case. At the next hearing, however, the husband told the court that he had no witnesses, arguing that the wife’s witnesses did not know anything about his married life. During one hearing, the court asked the eldest daughter whether she would prefer to live with her father or mother in the event of a divorce. She chose her mother. Court finds verbal abuse amounted to harm The court accepted the testimony of the wife’s witnesses that she had been subjected to insults and offensive language and noted that the husband had produced no evidence to rebut their testimony. It found that the established verbal abuse amounted to harm beyond what could ordinarily be tolerated in a marital relationship and was sufficient to justify