A Kuwaiti court has dropped a woman’s right to her four children’s custody after she was found to have sought help from a sorcerer to cause harm to their divorced father, a lawyer said.

The lawyer for the ex-husband told the family court that the woman had been involved in evil acts targeting the claimant.

The pernicious tricks came to the surface after a row had erupted between the woman and the sorcerer.

“Much to the luck of my claimant, the charlatan disagreed with his divorcee on the sum of money earlier agreed between them for the service, promoting the former (sorcerer) to contact my claimant,” said lawyer Hura Al Habib, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba.

The sorcerer sent voicemails and posts to the ex-husband, exposing the deal with the ex-wife allegedly to do evil deeds against him including the use of talismans and charms.

In issuing the ruling, the family court said after looking into the case documents, hearing witnesses and proving the woman’s involvement in sorcery, the mother becomes untrustworthy of keeping her children’s custody. The court shifted the custody to the father.

Sorcery, witchcraft and black magic is prohibited in Islam.

Kuwait has seen its lowest marriage rate in the past five years in 2023, alongside a significant increase in divorce rates, according to recent figures.

The highest divorce rate in the country last year was recorded among Kuwaiti men in May with 629 cases and with 208 among non-Kuwaitis, data from the Central Statistical Bureau showed.

Kuwait’s lowest divorce rate over the 2019-23 period was registered in 2020 when 4,661 cases were registered among Kuwaiti men and 4,294 among Kuwaiti women.

Last year, 538 Kuwaiti men took a second wife, 51 others married for the third time while three took a fourth wife, according to the same figures.