Manama: A decision by a Saudi woman to donate her two-month salary bonus to her husband to make him change his mind about taking a second wife has triggered a heated debate on social networks.
King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has offered all Saudi nationals working in the public sector the bonus to mark his assumption of power following the death of his brother former King Abdullah on January 23.
The bonus is due to be transferred into the beneficiaries’ accounts this week.
However, the Saudi woman told her husband, who was thinking of taking a second wife, that she would give her the bonus to him if he dropped his marriage plans, local news site Iram reported on Wednesday.
The husband reportedly accepted the financial offer and decided not to marry a second time, the site said.
The report caused uproar among most users who said they were shocked by the husband’s behaviour, saying that it was a despicable form of abuse and exploitation.
A hashtag was launched and users rallied behind the call to end the abuse of vulnerable women.
“How can a woman feel secure with a man whom she has to pay to ensure he stays with her? This amounts to living with a blackmailer,” a blogger, Dema, said. Shamook, another blogger, said that the wife should not have given money to her husband.
“This is against her dignity and self-esteem. He will now keep on blackmailing her every time he wants money. She has made it quite easy for him to take advantage of her emotions to get his way,” she posted.
Nawal Al Hosawi said that women should be careful when it comes to their finances, advising them to be careful with funds whenever they get them.
“Do not waste your money in any way,” she posted. “You must make sure you are not a loser. Save money, invest and possess whenever you can because poverty will not forgive you,” she said.
Some bloggers, however, insisted that it was a family matter and that people had no right to interfere in the domestic issues of other couples.
“Privacy needs to be respected and the deal is strictly between the husband and the wife,” Turki, a blogger, said. “Why should people feel upset over what is happening if both the husband and the wife are happy? They have their reasons to act the way they did and they deserve respect.”
Those who sided with the woman said that she had no other choice if she wanted to save her marriage, even though he husband seemed to be greedy.
One blogger, Abed, said that the woman had acted smartly.
“She will be able to extract money worth more than the two salaries she donated [to] him,” he said. “Smart women know how to get what they want,” he said.
