• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7UBTTd3eB4updated 12:40 p.m. EDT, Sun April 12, 2009
Saudi judge refuses to annul 8-year-old'smarriage
 
By Mohammed JamjoomCNN
(CNN)
-- A Saudi judge has refused for a second time to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man, a relative of the girl told CNN.The most recent ruling, in which the judge upheld his original verdict, was handed downSaturday in the Saudi city of Onaiza, where late last year the same judge rejected a petition from the girl's mother, who was seeking a divorce for her daughter.The relative said the judge, Sheikh Habib Al-Habib, "stuck by his earlier verdict andinsisted that the girl could petition the court for a divorce once she reached puberty." Thefamily member, who requested anonymity, added that the mother will continue to pursuea divorce for her daughter.The case, which has drawn criticism from local and international rights groups, came tolight in December when al-Habib declined to annul the marriage on a legal technicality.The judge ruled the girl's mother -- who is separated from the girl's father -- was not thegirl's legal guardian and therefore could not represent her in court, according to Abdullahal-Jutaili, the mother's lawyer.The girl's father, according to the attorney, arranged the marriage in order to settle hisdebts with the man, who is "a close friend" of his. At the time of the initial verdict, the judge required the girl's husband to sign a pledge that he would not have sex with her until she reaches puberty, al-Jutaili told CNN. The judge ruled that when the girl reaches puberty, she will have the right to request a divorce by filing a petition with the court, thelawyer said.Last month, an appeals court in theSaudicapital of Riyadh declined to certify theoriginal ruling, in essence rejecting al-Habib's verdict, and sent the case back to al-Habibfor reconsideration.Under the complicated Saudi legal process, the appeals court ruling meant that themarriage was still in effect, but that a challenge to the marriage was still ongoing. Theappeals court in Riyadh will now take up the case again and a hearing is scheduled for next month, according to the relative.
 
The issue of child marriage has been a hot-button topic in the deeply conservativekingdom recently. While rights groups have been petitioning the government to enactlaws that would protect children from this type of marriage, the kingdom's top cleric hassaid that it's OK for girls as young as 10 to wed."It is incorrect to say that it's not permitted to marry off girls who are 15 and younger,"Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti, said in remarks last Januaryquoted in the regional Al-Hayat newspaper. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Thosewho think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her."Al-Sheikh reportedly made the remarks when he was asked during a lecture about parentsforcing their underage daughters to marry."We hear a lot in the media about the marriage of underage girls," he said, according tothe newspaper. "We should know that Sharia law has not brought injustice to women."Sharia law is Islamic law. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam calledWahhabism.CNN was unable to reach government officials for comment.Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch, told CNN inDecember that his organization has heard of many other cases of child marriages."We've been hearing about these types of cases once every four or five months becausethe Saudi public is now able to express this kind of anger -- especially so when girls aretraded off to older men," Wilcke said.Wilcke explained that while Saudi ministries may make decisions designed to protectchildren, "It is still the religious establishment that holds sway in the courts, and in manyrealms beyond the court."Last December, Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the Saudi government-run HumanRights Commission, said his organization is fighting against child marriages."The Human Rights Commission opposes child marriages in Saudi Arabia," al-Harithisaid. "Child marriages violate international agreements that have been signed by SaudiArabia and should not be allowed." He added that his organization has been able tointervene and stop at least one child marriage from taking place.Wajeha al-Huwaider, co-founder of the Society of Defending Women's Rights in SaudiArabia, told CNN that achieving human rights in the kingdom means standing againstthose who want to "keep us backward and in the dark ages."
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...