A Sharjah court denies a divorce request due to allegations of WhatsApp harassment

Digital messages alone are deemed insufficient by judges, and the husband is mandated to cover kid expenses.Sharjah: According to Emarat Al Youm, a woman in Sharjah lost her attempt to end her marriage on the grounds of injury after alleging that her husband mistreated her at home and frequently insulted her via WhatsApp messages. The woman informed the Sharjah Personal Status Court, according to court records, that her marriage started out amicably but eventually descended into frequent arguments. She said that in addition to ceasing to support her and their child financially, her husband used derogatory and abusive comments toward her both in person and through messaging. She insisted that their relationship had grown intolerable and provided screenshots of the purported communications as proof. The woman filed for divorce on grounds of injury, alimony, child support, housing and domestic help charges, and payment for her child’s transportation and school expenditures. However, due to a lack of proof, the court of first instance denied her divorce motion. However, it did mandate that the spouse pay Dh1,000 a month for the child’s living, clothing, housing, and medical expenses in addition to Dh500 for tuition and transportation. The woman, unwilling to accept the decision, filed an appeal, claiming that the abusive communications provided enough justification for a divorce. The appeal was denied by the appellate court, which determined that the electronic messages by themselves could not be considered trustworthy evidence in the absence of official reports or supporting witnesses. It stated that unless there is supporting material evidence, digital correspondence cannot be regarded as conclusive proof in matters involving personal status.The court stressed that arguments between spouses and brief verbal abuse do not amount to serious harm that calls for divorce, particularly where there are children involved. According to the ruling, “separation between spouses is only granted when the harm is proven to be real and substantial, making marital life impossible to sustain.”The lower court’s decision was confirmed in the verdict, which denied the wife’s request for divorce and other financial claims while upholding the current custody arrangement and directing the husband to continue paying child expenditures.