Three Times Divorced
Ibtisam Sahl Mara'ana
2007 - 75 min - Beta digital - Couleur - Israël

Khitam, a Gaza Band born Palestinian woman, was married off in an arranged match to an Israeli Arab, followed him to Israel and bore him six children. When her husband divorced her – in absentia – in the Sharia (Muslim) court he gained custody of the children and Khitam was left with nothing. She cannot contact the children and has no property. Although married to an Israeli, she does not have an Israeli citizenship. Now she is out on a dual battle, the most crucial of her life: against the Sharia court – which always rules in favor of the husband – and against the State, in an effort to gain a temporary permit to stay in Israel in a shelter for abused women, while fighting for custody of her children.