The Ministry of Justice has sought the help of a number of female consultants in the field of social service to work as volunteers in personal status courts.

According to statistics issued by the Ministry of Civil Service several months ago, the female consultants are full-time employees at charities in the city and not the Ministry of Justice as it does not employ women. This is despite the issuance of directives from higher authorities to all ministries and government departments to employ women.

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice had requested the employment of 350 to 400 women in its facilities. However, its request was not approved by the Ministry of Civil Service, Al-Hayat daily reported.

In a statement, the spokesman of the Ministry of Justice Fahd Al-Bakran said the ministry has sought the help of female consultants to work in personal status courts in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and other regions.

He added that the ministry sought the help of female consultants belonging to Mawaddah Charitable Society six months ago.

Al-Bakran did not disclose any further details on cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and Mawaddah Charitable Society during the past six months.

However, he said Mawaddah achieved great success in providing advice and guidance and dealing with many marital issues.

“These services include providing consultations to women requesting services and help them in presenting their case, completing court procedures, providing family counseling and finding solutions for marital problems before they are decided on in court by the judge,” Al-Bakran said.

He said female volunteers will follow up divorce, alimony and custody cases and provide social, psychological and legal consultations to women litigants.

“These services in courts have helped in decreasing divorce cases during the first half of this year,” he said while adding the ministry is working on establishing a long-term strategy including social programs for the beneficiaries from these services, especially divorcees, widows, physically-challenged women, the elderly, children and victims of family disputes.

 
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