Child marriage pops up again in the Saudi media. Here, Arab News reports on a ten-year-old married to an 80-year-old man when the girl’s older sister (age undisclosed) chose to continue her education rather than marry. While permitted under Saudi custom and Shariah law, child marriage is an offense against international charters and treaties to which the Saudi government has subscribed itself, as a human rights advocate notes in the piece.
Child bride turned over to 80-year-old husband
AL-LAITH: A 10-year-old bride was returned last Sunday to her 80-year-old husband by her father who discovered her at the home of her aunt with whom she has been hiding for around 10 days.
A local newspaper said the husband, who denies he is 80 in spite of claims by the girl’s family, accused the aunt of meddling in his affairs. “My marriage is not against Shariah. It included the elements of acceptance and response by the father of the bride,” he said.
He added that he had been engaged to his wife’s elder sister and that this broke off as she wanted to continue with her education. “In light of this, her father offered his younger daughter. I was allowed to have a look at her according to Shariah and found her acceptable,” he said.
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August:26:2009 - 13:49
*eyes popping out of head* How old was the sister?
August:26:2009 - 15:15
While the article doesn’t give an age, given that she preferred to study, I’d put her anywhere between 12-20. Maybe a little younger; maybe a little older…
August:26:2009 - 15:47
The bloody pedophile found her ”acceptable”??????????????
Sickening!
And how do they all manage to gloss over the need for the woman’s consent? As stated in the Quran?
As the toddler was hiding with her aunt it seems pretty clear that the baby-girl did not want to be married to some old pedophile.
As if they’d ever let a girl off because ”she wants to study”, I suppose she was too old for the taste of a true pedophile and he preferred an even younger victim to rape.
August:26:2009 - 17:24
Saudi Arabia signed and ratified the UN’s international Convention on Rights of the Child, with the reservation (reservations are allowed)that any statute that contravenes Sharia Law is exempted. This brings the issue back to Saudi national law, which does not set a minimum age of consent for marriage, or for sex (2 different ages in most countries) for males or females (often different in various countries). So it is all legal, meaning the Saudi national law needs revising, as other Muslim countries have done, ie within Sharia Family Law set minimum ages for men and women to consent to marry, and to have sex (in Muslim countries same age for these 2). Countries attempting to curb teen marriages and foster education for women set it higher for both genders, although often it is 15 for females and 18-21 for males.
Bonus comment: pedophilia and hebephilia are distinct and neither can be “diagnosed” based on the information here. Both require a consistent near exclusive preference for sex with a specific age group, whether pre-pubertal (pedophilia) or post-pubertal (hebephilia). And yes, the so inclined have their age and gender preferences.
August:26:2009 - 17:27
Right on all counts. That’s why there’s the push to set a minimum age for marriage now. Whether it succeeds or not remains to be seen…
August:26:2009 - 22:42
I’m just wondering what a 70 year old man would want with a ten year old girl??? What could they possibly have in common? I think people get to stuck on the Is it haram or Is it permissable kick. They need to ask themselves, “Does it make any sense whatsoever?”
August:27:2009 - 07:17
Since the time of King David (at least!), old men have found young girls to have the power to a) delay aging or b) cure ED, and more recently, c) to prevent/cure AIDS. Check the first few verses of 1 Kings in the Old Testament.
August:27:2009 - 09:12
I haven’t had my hands on any holy books recently. One thing I do know for sure is what my daughter who is 9 and a half would say if I told her she is to be wed to a 70 year old, “Hanna Montana SAY WHAT!!!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xied6Wtod7A
August:27:2009 - 09:31
Let me add if I told my daughter that she is to be wed to any man aged 10-100 she’d still say “Hannah Montana Say What”.
I am still afraid of the possibility of her accidentally setting the house on fire or getting her finger stuck in an electric socket.