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In Saudi Arabia, an 8-year-old girl is married to a 47-year-old man.
The girl’s mother has tried twice to get the judge, Sheikh Habib Al-Habib, to annul the marriage, but he is standing by his original verdict. He first refused to annul the marriage based on a legal technicality…
The judge ruled the girl's mother -- who is separated from the girl's father -- was not the girl's legal guardian and therefore could not represent her in court, according to Abdullah al-Jutaili, the mother's lawyer.
Apparently, this young girl was sold into marriage by her father to pay off some debts that he owed the man, who is “a close friend” of his.
When the annulment was first rejected…
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, the lawyer said.
This is sick on three levels. 1) A father sold his young daughter into marriage to pay off some debts; 2) A middle-aged man agreed to marry a pre-pubescent child; and 3) A judge allowed this to happen. Twice.
What is this poor little girl supposed to do?! Even if she’s not being raped, she is being forced to live with this man, and be away from her family. How can anyone think that this is appropriate behavior?! She is a child! At 8-years-old, she can hardly know what marriage is, or really be able to understand what is happening to her and why. I worry about how this will effect her relationships with men in the future. Will she be trapped with this man forever? What if she becomes pregnant, even a few years from now?
Her mother is fighting hard for her, but seeing that the annulment has already been rejected twice, it is definitely a steep, uphill climb. I can’t help but think that if it was the girl’s father who was fighting for the annulment, if he would have to work as hard. Hopefully the next appeal hearing, scheduled for next month, will be more successful.
~Samantha
Also my two cents is that I know child marriage is a cultural practice in some places, however I think that human rights should always trump cultural relativity in these debates.