Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo alongside his partner Georgina Rodriguez and their children greet the crowd during his unveiling at the Mrsool Park Stadium in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Al Nassr Football club/AFP
When football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo announced his move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr FC, a lot was spoken about the ‘more than EUR200 million (Rs 1,758 crore) deal’. While sports pundits spoke about the probable end of Ronaldo’s football career, there were others who wondered if the deal would pose a problem for the 37-year-old from a family perspective.
Many wondered if Ronaldo would be forced to stay away from his family, owing to Saudi Arabia’s strict rules on unmarried couples. Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez have been together since 2016 and even have two children together — Bella and Alana and also raise Cristiano’s near-five-year-old twins Eva and Mateo born to a surrogate mother and the football pro’s 12-year-old son Cristiano Jr. But the duo haven’t tied the knot. However, the Saudi authorities have bent their rules and permitted the footballer to live together with Rodriguez.
It has been reported that local authorities will turn a “blind eye” to the couple cohabiting even though the law forbids unmarried couples from living together. A lawyer was quoted as saying, “”The Saudi Arabian authorities, today, do not interfere in this matter (in the case of foreigners), but the law continues to prohibit cohabitation outside of marriage.”
As Ronaldo now settles in with his family in Saudi Arabia, let’s take a closer look at what the Kingdom’s rules are on unmarried couples.
What’s allowed and not for unmarried couples?
In Saudi Arabia, unmarried couples aren’t allowed to live together, nor are they allowed to share hotel rooms. According to the laws, when checking in, hotels are required by law to obtain the Saudi national IDs of the couple and ensure that the Mahram relation (married) exists between them. Moreover, if a couple seeks to rent an apartment, the landlord is required to ensure that the tenants are married.
These rules were applicable to Saudi nationals as well as expatriates. However, in October 2019, the Kingdom stated that unmarried couples would be allowed to share rooms while on vacation in the country. The Saudi authorities had also allowed for foreign women travelling alone to book rooms for themselves — something that the Kingdom hadn’t allowed since then. Authorities, however, had said that women will still be expected to dress modestly.
Due to the laws on sex outside marriage, if you become pregnant outside marriage, both you and your partner could face imprisonment and/or deportation. Doctors will ask for proof of marriage during antenatal checks.
An unmarried woman who gives birth in Saudi Arabia may also encounter problems when registering the birth of the child in Saudi Arabia, and could be arrested, imprisoned or deported. To get a birth certificate from the Saudi authorities, you must provide a marriage certificate and the authorities may compare the date of the marriage against the estimated date of conception.
Women’s rights in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has in recent times introduced reforms when it comes to women’s rights. Many note that the changes are part of the crown prince’s plan to modernise the Middle Eastern country.
However, despite the reforms that enabled women to get their own passports, as well as travel abroad and live independently without the permission of a male guardian, or “wali” and even drive, the Kingdom continues to be incredibly prohibitive on what women can and cannot do.
As Megan K Stack wrote for the New York Times in August 2022, “The reforms means that if a woman has been born or married into a clan of freethinking men willing to let her do things, the State will not interfere. But for the many Saudi women who lack a benevolent male guardian, there is no remedy. If, for example, a woman’s husband or father doesn’t think she should get her driving licence, she will still compelled to obey his diktat.”
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When it comes to women’s reproductive rights, the country still lags behind. A male guardian’s approval is still required in order for a woman to seek a legal abortion in Saudi Arabia. The law permits abortion only on the basis of health or therapeutic grounds, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Also, a closer look at the marriage laws in Saudi Arabia show just how difficult life is for women. Saudi women still need permission from a male charge to marry. It is true that the guardian can’t force the woman to marry against their will. Also, once married, a Saudi woman must obey her husband. She may not “withhold herself” from her husband. She must breastfeed her children; this is a legal obligation owed to her husband. Moreover, she can’t marry a non-Muslim and widows are entitled to a smaller share of their spouse’s estate.
In the justice system, women are openly discriminated against. One man’s court testimony is equal to that of two women.
Lina al-Hathloul, who works as head of communications and monitoring for the London-based human rights watchdog ALQST, was quoted as telling DW, “The liberation of women’s rights over the past four years doesn’t come anywhere close to what Saudi women really want.
“We want to live without fear and be able to demand our own rights,” she said.
With inputs from agencies
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