Child marriage is in the news again, this time involving a 12-year old Saudi girl and an 80-year old Saudi man. Press reports said that the girl’s father arranged for her to be married to the 80-year old man in September 2009.
Why would the father do that? Apparently it was because of the 85,000 riyals (US$ 22,667) dowry that the arranged child marriage would fetch. But this was done without the knowledge of the girl’s mother, who is separated from the father.
The girl’s mother found out from press report about the child marriage. Al-Riyadh newspaper reported in January this year that the marriage was consummated. The report also carried a plea from the girl to the Al-Riyadh reporter. The plea was simple and short: “Save me”.
The mother then complained that her daughter had been raped, and asked the court to annul the marriage. However, Saudi Arabia has no law against child marriage. The father and the registrar who conducted the marriage defended themselves by saying that there is no law against the marriage taking place. Additionally, the father said he gave permission to the marriage based on her daughter’s physical development rather than on her age.
And what did the 80-year old husband have to say about the marriage? He denied any wrongdoing and pleaded that “the contract is valid and meets all marriage conditions.”
But the court case took an unexpected twist. Mother and daughter did a complete about turn and withdrew their divorce petition at the last minute. Now the 12-year old girl said that she had consented to the marriage. She said: “I agree to the marriage. I have no objection. This is in filial respect to my father and obedience to his wish.”
This has surprised many people. Princess Adela Bint Abdullah, daughter of King Abdullah said: “I, personally, and many specialists in social and education fields, share the opinion that it is in violation of children’s rights. A child has the right to live her childhood and not be forced to get married. Even an adult would not accept that.”
Now the case has taken another twist. The Saudi Government through its state-run Human Rights Commission has intervened publicly for the first time ever in such a case. It hired a lawyer to represent the girl in court. This case may well become a test case for banning child marriage.
Alanoud al-Hejailan, lawyer for the Human Rights Commission said: “Our main concern is to safeguard the child’s rights…it is in the hands of the court but the commission is firmly on the child’s side.” And to emphasize its seriousness, he said that the Human Rights Commission will pursue the matter through the appeals court if a divorce is not granted.
Think about it. Why did the mother change her mind and withdrew the divorce petition? Did she influence her daughter to also change her mind? And why doesn’t Saudi Arabia have laws banning child marriages? Does the Government’s intervention in this case suggests that the Government may well be considering banning child marriage, or at least define a mininum age for marriage? Last month, senior cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Manie, a member of the Council of Senior Ulema (scholars) said that the Prophet Mohammed’s marriage to a 9-year old girl 14 centuries ago cannot be used to justify child marriages today “because the conditions and circumstances are not the same.” So why do child marriages still exist today?
Earlier posts
UK – Protecting Forced Marriages
Saudi Arabia – 80 Year Old Man Marries 10 Year Old Girl
Somalia – 112 Year Old Man Marries 17 Year Old Girl
Nigeria – Man With 86 Wives And Counting
Rich Arabs Pay Young British Virgins For Sex
Muslim Child Marriage – What Is Marriageable Age?
Syech Puji – Child Marriage Or Pedophile?
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