| Romance comes to Arabia? |
Saudi clerics took an unprecedented stand Tuesday against forcing women into marriage, saying that fathers who try to force their daughters to marry should be jailed until they change their minds. The kingdom's mufti, Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Al al-Sheik, who has ministerial rank, issued a statement saying the board of top clerics had ruled that coercing women into marriage is "a major injustice" and "un-Islamic.""Fathers who insist on making their daughters marry those they do not desire should be punished by imprisonment, and should not be released until they change their minds," al-Sheik said. According to Saudi newspapers, about half of all marriages end in divorce, and many believe the high number of forced marriages is to blame. The status and restrictions on Saudi women have long provoked criticism. Women cannot drive a car, mix with men in public, or leave home without covering themselves from head to toe. A Saudi woman typically marries the person her family chooses. As part of a recent campaign of limited reform, the authorities have taken steps toward giving women more rights and jobs. However, women are barred from running or voting in this year's landmark municipal elections.