...born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad

Here comes the (child) bride: In keeping with the example of the most perfect human being ever, a gent who had a penchant for marrying 'em young, boychicks in the Wahhabi ‘hood are said to be getting married before they're even old enough to shave. Saudi officials purport to be shocked—shocked!—by the preteen nuptials. From the Toronto Star: 

RIYADH–An 11-year-old Saudi boy gave out invitations to his classmates for a big event his family was planning this summer – and it wasn't his birthday party.

It was his wedding to a 10-year-old cousin.

Muhammad al-Rashidi's marriage is on hold, his father said, after pressure from the governor of the northern province of Hail, who considered the elementary school student too young to marry.

The case is among a recent spate of marriages involving the very young reported in the media and by Saudi human rights groups. They have been denounced by activists, clerics and others who say such unions harm children and trivialize the institution of marriage.

"We are studying this issue so we can put an end to this phenomenon," said Zuhair al-Harithi, board member of the Human Rights Commission, a Saudi government-run rights group. "These marriages violate international agreements the kingdom has signed.''

One girl, 15, was married off by her father, a death-row inmate, to a cellmate also sentenced to die. The father was beheaded July 21 for killing another man.

Pictures of the wedding, held in the men's prison in Taif, appeared in several newspapers.

The groom, Awad al-Harbi, and his bride were allowed to spend two nights together in a special prison quarters after the wedding, according to Al-Watan daily. Al-Harbi told another newspaper, Al-Madina, recently that his wife is pregnant.

But the phenomenon is not new, said Sheik Muhammad al-Nujaimi, a strong opponent of the marriages. He and other clerics, activists and writers have pushed the government for a law setting a minimum age for marriage and to resolve differences among religious authorities over the issue.

"There are different (religious) opinions regarding the marriages, which is why we need the government to settle the issue through legislation," said al-Nujaimi.

Such marriages occur elsewhere including Yemen, where an 8-year-old girl recently sought a judge to help her divorce a man nearly four times her age.

Activists say the numbers in Saudi Arabia are not so high. They say the girls are given away in return for hefty dowries or as a result of long-standing custom in which a father promises his infant daughters and sons to cousins out of a belief that marriage will protect them from illicit relationships.

Muraiziq al-Rashidi, the 11-year-old boy's father, said he has delayed, not cancelled, his son's marriage.

"God willing, we will hold the wedding next year," he said.

A bit disingenuous of the Saudi “Human Rights Commissioner” (heh), I’d say, given that a certain infallible messenger of God, whom the faithful are instructed to emulate, married one of his favourite wives when she was aged six, and consummated their union when his bride was 11 (which, when you think about it, is even creepier than that Elvis-Priscilla thing).

Posted by: scaramouche at 12:18 | link | comments (1)

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#1  06 August 2008 - 13:51

 

"It was his wedding to a 10-year-old cousin."

Please, no more jokes about Appalachia from now on.

BTW - IIRC Aisha was nine at the time.

Cyclist

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