Saudi Arabia says it plans to start regulating the marriage of young girls, amid controversy over a union between a 60-year-old man and a girl of eight.
Earlier this year, the country's highest religious authority, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Shaikh, said it was not against Islamic law to marry off girls who are 15 and younger.
The Unaiza case was brought by the eight-year-old girl's mother who wanted the marriage to be annulled.
The judge said he had tried to persuade the husband to accept a divorce, but the man refused.
The girl is still with her family and there is no suggestion that she will live with her husband until much older.
The judge said that once she reached puberty, she could ask for a divorce.
Local press reports say the case seems to be an example of how some Saudi families sell their daughters for money.
Correspondents say the girl's father appeared to have sought the dowry from the groom to pay off debts.
Selling child brides in Saudi Arabia
By solecito - Posted on April 16th, 2009
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most of what i have read about this country is very sad
I don't even want to comment on this one... 8 years old child...
Awful! Do they do this on a normal basis? I mean .. wow... which century are we living in?
the child has divorced the 50-year old who bought her. I guess this is because of the publicity given to this case, one of many...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_saudi_child_marriage
there's more developments on the issue... gradually the region will get civilised, I hope....
"A girl below 18 is often not fit to take the family responsibility especially if she quickly gives birth (after marriage)," Saudi Arabia's Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. Imagine if somebody could have said that to Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, before he married Aisha, a 6-year old child, and had sex with her when she was 9 years old.
read some more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090504/od_nm/us_marriage