Khaberni - A woman in the UAE has requested the dissolution of her marriage contract due to harm, as her husband treats her harshly at home and deliberately directs insults and verbal abuses at her via the "WhatsApp" app, in addition to the repeated insults that have made the continuation of their marital life impossible.
In detail, the wife filed a divorce lawsuit for harm in the Sharjah court, confirming that her married life began calmly and stably, but over time it witnessed continuous disputes and clashes, in addition to the husband's refusal to provide for her and their child. The wife submitted to the court photos of messages via the "WhatsApp" app containing offensive phrases and repeated insults from her husband, asserting that marital life between them had become impossible.
The wife requested the court to grant her a divorce due to harm, and to rule in her favor for alimony, divorce gratification, custody expenses, housing, maid service, and to cover the child's school fees and transportation allowance. After considering the lawsuit, the primary court denied the divorce request due to insufficient evidence, while at the same time requiring the husband to pay monthly child support, school expenses, and transportation allowance, along with handing over the child's official documents to his mother.
The wife appealed the judgment before the Court of Appeals, insisting that the abuse proven in the electronic messages was enough reason for divorce. However, the court declined to grant the divorce due to the lack of any legal evidence, witnesses or official reports proving the harm, stating that her evidence was limited to electronic messages, the source and context of which could not be verified. The court noted that digital evidence is not considered valid on its own in personal status cases unless supported by other physical proof.
The court added, "The principle in marital lawsuits is to maintain cohabitation, and separation between the spouses is only decreed if the court is convinced that actual and severe harm has occurred, making it impossible to continue the marital relationship."
The court emphasized that verbal abuses or temporary disputes are not considered severe harm that necessitates divorce, especially when there are children involved, confirming that "divorce due to harm" must be based on solid evidence and not on momentary emotions or exchanged text messages.
The court concluded by upholding the first-instance judgment which required the husband to provide monthly child support of 1000 dirhams covering food, clothing, housing, and medical care, and a transportation allowance of 500 dirhams per month, educational expenses, along with delivering the mother the official documents related to the child, while rejecting the rest of the requests, confirming that custody remains joint between the spouses as long as the marital relationship exists and no divorce occurs.
