Family matters Q&A: how do I divorce my abusive husband if our marriage was not attested in the UAE?

A reader asks what her options are to divorce her abusive husband if the marriage is not valid under UAE law

My husband and I were married in the US. I am a Muslim and he is a Christian. We moved to Dubai with our three children nearly five years ago after he was offered a job. Recently my husband has begun to change his behaviour towards us, acting abusively. He previously cheated on me but I forgave him. I no longer want to live with him but I am unsure how to get a divorce in Dubai if my marriage was not legalised here in the first place.

The UAE is governed by Islamic law under which it is prohibited for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. This law makes your marriage invalid in the UAE. Regardless of the nationality of the residents, the following Islamic provisions apply to marriages in the UAE: the groom and the bride must be Muslims, and if the groom is Muslim, the bride must be Muslim, Christian or Jewish. A Muslim man may marry a woman who is a Christian or a Jewish provided that the marriage is contracted as per Islamic rituals. It is therefore likely that a divorce application in the UAE will be dismissed on the grounds that the marriage was not valid in this country to begin with. The wife can submit an application to the court requesting an annulment of her marriage because it is invalid. It should be noted though that on applying for the annulment, the court may ask to refer the case to the Prosecution for criminal investigation to see there was a physical relationship between the couple and if they were living together – which is illegal in the UAE unless the couple is legally married.

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