23 May 2011

Female Saudi doctor appeals to top court for right to choose a husband

Samia is a surgeon who, as she says, is "supposed to be a grandma by now."But she's not even married yet. As with many women in Saudi Arabia, choosing a husband was not solely up to her.

Her father and brothers demanded that she marry a cousin, and, she says, beat her when she refused. For the past five years, she has lived in a shelter for battered women.

"I'm a surgeon. I'm responsible for people's lives," says Samia, now in her 40s. "I want to be responsible for my own life." [The Christian Science Monitor] Read more