At least one Saudi court views child marriages dimly, reports Saudi Gazette. A Saudi court in Taif has released an 11-year-old child bride from the marriage arranged for her by her father. The court when further, putting the girl and her sister in the custody of their mother.
The article notes that this shighar marriage, in which two men arrange to marry each other’s kin, dates back to pre-Islamic times. It argues that this practice has no role in contemporary Saudi life.
Child bride Abeer wins freedom
Suha Al-OrabiTAIF – Eleven-year-old Abeer is freed from her 75-year-old husband.
The General Court handed Abeer over to her mother on Monday, six months after she had petitioned the court.
The ruling also gave the mother custody of Abeer’s younger sister.
Abeer’s father, 70, had married her off to the 75-year-old man in an arranged exchange of daughters for wedlock.
The father pleaded to be exempted from paying alimony and for having a say in choosing the future husbands of his daughters.
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