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| Arabia |
| Saudi Arabia to regulate minor girls' marriages |
| 2009-04-15 |
| Saudi Arabia plans to regulate the marriages of young girls, after a court refused to nullify the marriage of an 8-year-old girl with a 50-year-old man, Saudi Arabia's Justice Minister Mohamedal Issa was quoted as saying on Tuesday The justice ministry was aiming "to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls", Issa told the al-Watan newspaper. Abolished: The minister's comments suggested that the practice of marrying off minor girls would not be abolished. The regulations would seek to "preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects of underage girls' marriage," he said. Last week, a court in the Saudi town of Onaiza upheld for the second time, the marriage of a Saudi girl to a 50-year-old man, on the condition that the man would not consummate the marriage until the girl reached puberty. The minister said any new regulations would be made under the provision that the requirements of universal laws were not binding to religious commandments. Officials at the ministry could not be reached for comment. Financial considerations could prompt some Saudi families to wed their underage daughters to older men. Many Saudi clerics, including the kingdom's chief cleric Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz al-Sheikh, endorse the practice. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Regulate = Uncles only |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-04-15 08:27 |