February 9, 201016 yr Human rights lawyers called in to try to force divorce of girl, 12, married to 80-year-old man By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 3:36 PM on 08th February 2010 Comments (16) Add to My Stories Saudi Arabia's human rights commission has hired a lawyer to help a 12-year-old girl divorce her 80-year-old husband in a move activists hope will lead to a ban on child marriages. The country, which applies an austere version of Sunni Islam, has no minimum legal age for marriage. Fathers are granted guardianship over their daughters, giving them control over who their daughters marry and when. The girl from Buraidah, a conservative town near the capital Riyadh, was married to her father's elderly cousin late last year for bridal money of 85,000 riyals (£15,500), her lawyer Sultan bin Zahim told Reuters. The 12-year-old bride is from Buraidah, a conservative town near Riyadh. There is no minimum legal age for marriage in Saudi Arabia, which applies an austere version of Sunni Islam A young girl in Saudi Arabia, where the problem of child brides is causing a national debate (file picture) Activists see the divorce proceedings as a test case that could pave the way for introducing a minimum age for marriage in the world's largest oil exporter, where child marriage is common in poorer tribal areas. The child's mother had earlier filed for divorce on her daughter's behalf but withdrew without giving a reason after a second court hearing in early February, bin Zahim said. The government-affiliated rights watchdog then took over the case, again filing for divorce on the child's behalf. 'I became involved in this case as a public rights issue... This case is still valid even after the mother withdrew,' bin Zahim said. This is the first time the commission has intervened in a case of child marriage in the kingdom, an issue that was previously seen as a 'family affair' and outside of the commission's realm of duty. Saudi Arabia is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, which considers those under the age of 18 as children. 'This case is an investment in order to push for a law,' said Wajiha al-Huweider, a Saudi rights activist. 'We need to affect public opinion and I believe that Saudi Arabia will issue a law preventing child marriages soon.' Zuhair al-Harthi, a member of Saudi Arabia's advisory Shoura Council, said that a draft law on banning child marriages was being studied by a government committee. But activists fear it could be a while yet before this law is passed. 'Such a law will take a long time to be passed as there are social, religious, and cultural aspects,' said Mufleh al-Qahtani, chairman of the National Society for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. Harthi said a quicker way to address the issue could be for the government to ban notaries from performing marriages for girls under the age of 18 years, which would be an intervention on an administrative rather than legal level. The girl's lawyer said he expected the judge presiding over the case to make a decision shortly. 'Within days we expect the judge to take into account our objection and issue a divorce, or this case will be taken to higher judges at the appeals court,' bin Zahim said.
February 9, 201016 yr I LOVE the google maps screenshot of her hometown, really gave me an insight into what life is like as a Saudi.
February 9, 201016 yr Author Just down right disgusting.. Yup, yet another example of "Dark Ages" mentality.:dozey:
February 9, 201016 yr I LOVE the google maps screenshot of her hometown, really gave me an insight into what life is like as a Saudi. I thought it gave great insight to the amount of research Dail Mail journalists carry out.
February 10, 201016 yr I thought it gave great insight to the amount of research Dail Mail journalists carry out. Plus it's a pretty short story even for Daily Mail :\
February 10, 201016 yr Author Plus it's a pretty short story even for Daily Mail :\ Short and to the point.:rolleyes:
February 10, 201016 yr Short and to the point.:rolleyes: Yeah because there's no point worrying about all the cultural pap and background reading it would take to begin to understand this article. All we need to know is that this is SICK and they should all be ASHAMED! :angry: Let's string them up and make them wear their ass for a hat! :angry: Who are we talking about again? :surprised:
February 10, 201016 yr Author Yeah because there's no point worrying about all the cultural pap and background reading it would take to begin to understand this article. What is there to understand? The practice is clearly wrong, whatever way you look at it.:dozey:
February 10, 201016 yr What is there to understand? The practice is clearly wrong, whatever way you look at it.:dozey: When did I say it was correct?
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