One of Dubai’s ruler's daughters made headlines after she posted on Instagram that she would seek a divorce on July 17th, a rare move for a princess in the United Arab Emirates.
Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the daughter of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, announced on Instagram that she would be leaving her husband, a fellow member of the UAE’s royal family.
“I hereby declare our divorce,” Mahra wrote on Instagram. “I divorce you, I divorce you, and I Divorce You. Take care. Your ex-wife.”
By repeating the sentence “I divorce you” three times in English, the princess appeared to be referencing the controversial practice of triple talaq or triple divorce, a custom in some Muslim (notably Sunni Muslim) countries that allows a man to instantly divorce his wife by declaring “talaq” (Arabic word for divorce, from the word talaaq meaning to untie or free) three times.
The method, which is banned in some countries such as India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, does not require the man to offer a reason to divorce his wife or get his wife’s consent. Furthermore, Muslim women do not customarily invoke it against their husbands, something Mahra unexpectedly defied.
The princess also suggested in her Instagram post that her husband, Sheikh Mana Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, had been unfaithful to her, saying that he was “occupied with other companions.” Sheikha Mahra married Sheikh Mana in a glamorous wedding ceremony in May last year that was featured in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and Grazia. The couple welcomed a daughter shortly after.
I guess this is like getting fired by text message.
— Fill C (@73FillC) July 18, 2024
Netizens who follow the royal couple noticed that the two had not only unfollowed each other but also removed all photos of one another from their Instagram profiles. Following her post where she divorced her husband, Sheikha Mahra posted a picture on July 22nd, where the princess was seen holding her two-month-old daughter in front of a horse portrait. She did not write a caption but posted the photo with a white heart symbol.
As of July 25th, Sheikha Mara’s Instagram post announcing her intent to divorce her husband gained over 603 thousand likes and 55 thousand comments. Her subsequent post with her daughter had over 170 thousand likes and 7,000 comments. According to local Emirati media, the princess, whose mother is Greek, maintains a visible public and social media presence, with her Instagram alone having over 900 thousand followers.
classless
— Zack Sande (@SandeZack) July 18, 2024
In the UAE, Islamic law governs marriage and divorce proceedings for Muslim couples, as well as for couples of a Muslim man and a non-Muslim woman. While men can invoke triple talaq to divorce their wives under certain Islamic countries and schools of law, a wife cannot divorce her husband on her own unless her husband delegated her such a right or if they reach an agreement.
Under Sharia law, a woman typically receives a dowry (or mahr in Arabic) from her husband or his family upon marriage. Once a woman returns the mahr, she can legally obtain a separation called khula. Another way a Muslim woman can divorce her husband is through mubarat, where the husband and wife mutually agree to end their marriage. Nevertheless, Muslim women would need to enter a waiting period known as iddah before remarrying.
