Mother jailed in UAE for pulling her children out of school

Abu Dhabi - The father was supposed to provide school fees and other expenses for his children like house rent and alimony to his ex-wife.

A mother who took her three children out of school in Abu Dhabi has been given six months in jail.
Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance handed down the jail sentence to the Iraqi woman after she was found guilty of depriving her children of education.
Official court documents showed that the children's father had complained to authorities after learning that his ex-wife had taken the kids out of the school in Abu Dhabi, so she could stay with them in Al Ain.
The school had reportedly told the Iraqi father, who has been paying the school fee for the children, that his children had not attended classes for weeks when he went there to check on their performance.
The mother was staying with the children, all aged below ten, after the couple had separated. The couple was married for ten years. After getting divorced last year, she was given the custody of the three children. The father was supposed to provide school fees and other expenses for his children like house rent and alimony to his ex-wife.
The man reportedly asked his ex-wife to bring back the children to the Abu Dhabi and continue their schooling, but she allegedly refused. The father's lawyer, Hadia Hammad told court his client was morally affected by his ex-wife's failure in sending his children to the school, for which he paid for. She added that her client had received a formal communication letter from the school administration confirming that children had left the school.
The lawyer had requested court to give a reasonable punishment to the mother for her negligence towards the kids' education.
The mother had confessed to taking the children out of school stressing that she wanted to stay with them in Al Ain and near her family, and that she wanted them to study from there something that their father was opposed to.
Court said in its ruling that the mother was negligent in her duties as a parent when she interrupted the children's education and that she had deprived them of their right to learning.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi