The ongoing struggle to curb child marriage in Saudi Arabia is the topic of this Asharq Alawsat piece. It reports that the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) is seeking to stop it on two fronts: legal/religious/social and medical. Because Saudi law is so intimately tied to religion, and Saudi society tends to conflate social practices with religious practices, it is necessary to attack the problem from a religious perspective. The HRC is doing that by arguing that by avoiding a requisite for a legitimate marriage—consent—there is no religious support for child marriages. There are also medical considerations, including those imposed on the child bride’s mother and siblings that must be taken into account. The HRC calls for strict enforcement of existing laws and the creation of national minimum age of marriage.

I think fixing this problem is one necessary step that Saudi Arabia take to distance itself from third world countries in which child marriages, usually in traditional environments, remains the norm. The Saudis can do better than the status quo. It is laudable that the Saudi media and at least some sectors of society and government are on the case.

Saudi Human Rights Commission Tackles Child Marriages
Turki Al-Saheil

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat – The government-affiliated Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia released a statement Sunday describing the phenomenon of marrying off minor girls as an “inhumane violation.”

Dr. Zuheir al Harthi, spokesman for the human rights body told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Commission will persist in demanding that marriage officials adhere to a binding minimum age limit when carrying out marriage ceremonies.

The Commission stated that this phenomenon “goes against the rights of children,” and that the Commission would “spare no effort in confronting and curtailing this phenomenon.”

In a telephone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Zuheir al Harthi warned against the dangerous consequences of such marriages. “The role of the Human Rights Commission is to sound the alarm on these kinds of marriages,” said al Harthi. He further highlighted the need for concerted efforts in order to eliminate this phenomenon, which violates all international accords concerning children.

Over the recent period, the Commission addressed the Saudi Ministry of Health and requested that it present medical reports on the issue of marrying off minors.
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