Riyadh: Saudi Arabia men lobby for remarriages of widows, divorcees

Riyadh: A group of Saudi men have formed a society to promote remarriages of widows and divorcees within the existing system of polygamy in Saudi Arabia, the media reported on Sunday. There are more than two million unmarried women, including widows and divorcees, in Saudi Arabia. Under the Saudi laws, these women are allowed to remarry, but the practice is not common. Doctors, engineers, religious scholars and university professors are among the 100 founders of the new society, in which eight per cent of overall members are women, Xinhua news agency reported. "We will be promoting men to marry more than one woman and females to accept such trend to give the chance for single women to have partners," key founder of the society, Ataallah Al Abar, said. Abar said he has submitted official documents to the authorities to process the establishment of the society. The society will have a website that will be a matrimony portal for both men and women. Polygamy is common in Saudi Arabia that implements all Islamic rules, as the religion allows a man to marry up to four women at the same time.