Saudi judge refuses to annul marriage of girl, 8

Calvin

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A Saudi judge recently refused to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man -- a union apparently arranged by the girl's father to settle his debts -- a lawyer in the case told CNN.

On Saturday, the judge, Sheikh Habib Abdallah al-Habib, dismissed a petition brought by the girl's mother because she "is not the legal guardian of the girl," the woman's lawyer Abdullah al-Jutaili said.

"Therefore, she cannot represent her daughter in these proceedings," al-Jutaili said.

Her parents are separated, he said.

According to the lawyer, the girl's father arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, who is "a close friend" of his.

The judge did ask for a pledge from the husband, who was in court, not to consummate the marriage until the girl reaches puberty, according to al-Jutaili.

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, the lawyer said.

Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said his organization has heard many other cases of child marriages.

"We've been hearing about these types of cases once every four or five months because the Saudi public is now able to express this kind of anger, especially so when girls are traded off to older men," Wilcke said.

Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the Human Rights Commission, a Saudi government-run human rights group, said his organization is fighting against child marriages.

"The Human Rights Commission opposes child marriages in Saudi Arabia," al-Harithi said. "Child marriages violate international agreements that have been signed by Saudi Arabia and should not be allowed."

The spokesman said he did not have specific details about this case but his organization has been able to stop at least one other child marriage.
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Saudi judge refuses to annul marriage of girl, 8 - CNN.com

:shock: :crazy:
 
omg... that is wrong, i know ppl r brought up different in diff countries, but a child that young could b abused and never know that its wrong. this is one place where i think international governments should step in. yes it'd be wrong of us (others) to stick our noses in something that isn't governed by our laws but when it is something where children r bein traded off and married off and have no say in it something needs to be done...
 
An eight year old child is STILL a baby -- I opposed for them to marry to that tender age. And, yes you are right about :crazy:
 
Saudi women's group assails judge over 8-year-old's marriage

CNN) -- A group fighting for women's rights in Saudi Arabia condemned a judge Wednesday for refusing to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man.

The group's co-founder, Wajeha al-Huwaider, told CNN that achieving human rights in the kingdom means standing against those who want to "keep us backward and in the dark ages."

The Society of Defending Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia, in a statement published on its Web site, called on the "minister of justice and human rights groups to interfere now in this case" by divorcing the girl from the man. "They must end this marriage deal which was made by the father of the girl and the husband."

On Saturday, the judge, Sheikh Habib Abdallah al-Habib, dismissed a petition brought by the girl's mother. Watch CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom report on the case »

The mother's lawyer, Abdullah al-Jutaili, said the judge found that the mother -- who is separated from the girl's father -- is not the legal guardian, and therefore cannot represent her daughter.

The judge requested, and received, a pledge from the husband, who was in court, not to allow the marriage to be consummated until the girl reaches puberty, al-Jutaili said. When she reaches puberty, the judge ruled, the girl will have the right to request a divorce by filing a petition with the court, the lawyer said.

Al-Jutaili said the girl's father arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, "a close friend" of his.

In its statement Wednesday, the Society of Defending Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia said the judge's decision goes against children's "basic rights." Marrying children makes them "lose their sense of security and safety. Also, it destroys their feeling of being loved and nurtured. It causes them a lifetime of psychological problems and severe depression.

"Moreover, children marriage creates unhealthy families because they were built on bad relationships."

The judge's decision also contradicts the king's consultative council, called the Majlis al-Shura, which found that anyone under the age of 18 "is a child and should be treated likewise," the women's rights group said.

In an interview with CNN, al-Huwaider said the Saudi government has signed international agreements involving children's and human rights, "and they know that this is very harmful to the kingdom's image. There is a strong wave to teach and spread human rights here in Saudi Arabia, but we all know that there are two players behind the scenes: a movement that wants reform and change to better the kingdom and another movement that wants to keep us backward and in the dark ages."

The Saudi Justice Ministry has not commented.

The Saudi Information Ministry forwarded CNN to the government-run Human Rights Commission.

Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the commission, said his organization is fighting against child marriages. "Child marriages violate international agreements that have been signed by Saudi Arabia and should not be allowed," he said.

Al-Harithi added that he did not have specific details about this case, but his organization has been able to stop at least one other child marriage.

Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said, "We've been hearing about these types of cases once every four or five months because the Saudi public is now able to express this kind of anger, especially so when girls are traded off to older men."

In an interview Wednesday with CNN, Wilcke said that while Saudi ministries may make decisions designed to protect children, "It is still the religious establishment that holds sway in the courts, and in many realms beyond the court."

He added that, "unfortunately, the religious establishment holds to conservative views which many scholars believe sometimes violate sharia [Islamic law]."

Wilcke said he hopes the appeals process will overturn the judge's decision.
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Saudi women's group assails judge over 8-year-old's marriage

This has gotten out of hand arleady and crazy as well.
 
This is what makes me feel lucky to live in the Grand U.S. of A.

People still want to complain about the wars? These are some of the things that needs to be fought for. instead of being appalled by the facts. Our Military is fighting for those very things. Human rights.

The tables are starting to turn. Glad to see women fighting for what is right.

It is a start.
 
Like the husband will refrain from having sex with the girl before she hits puberty. Yeah right! :roll:

The judge should not have dismissed a concerned mother's petition. She is a mother and is entitled to protect her child in any ways she could find.

I hope the judge's life will be a living hell and that they'll overturn the case and annul the marriage.
 
Women and children don't have rights there. They are considered property.

Sadly! :(
 
It's so pathetic... There is not much to say anything for this thread...

The ages, an eight and a forty-seven, are so absurd and very nauseating, and the child don't need him. This child needs to get out of the marriage and have her own path as a normal life.
 
It is a shame! Karissa is right, not much else to say.
 
Miss-Delectable said:
Like the husband will refrain from having sex with the girl before she hits puberty. Yeah right! :roll:....
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Exactly! The "husband" is just a dirty old man.

Besides, puberty could mean 10-12 years old for the poor girl. That's still a child.
 
"Al-Jutaili said the girl's father arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, "a close friend" of his."

So the girl's father is either a pimp or slave trader for his own daughter. :mad:
 
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