GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On March 17, Jordanian authorities arrested Rola al-Amin, a Jordanian-Palestinian Al Jazeera English reporter, after she claimed custody of her 5-year-old daughter. Her arrest attracted media attention and generated solidarity among Palestinian women, who took to social media platforms not because Amin's detention was unprecedented or simply because they too are women and mothers, but because her arrest reflects the reality of Palestinian women whose cries demanding custody of their children are ignored.
Sahar (a pseudonym) and her husband fought constantly in their home east of Gaza City, so he divorced her. According to the law, a husband can divorce his wife simply by verbally expressing his wish to do so, and it does not matter whether he does it in his wife's presence or in her absence. The couple then heads to the Sharia court, where jurists try to reconcile the two parties. If that fails, the divorce becomes final and is recorded with the legal system.
