GLOBEANDMAIL: RIYADH — Saudi Arabia plans to regulate the marriages of young girls, its justice minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday, after a court refused to nullify the marriage of an 8-year-old to a man 50 years her senior.
The Justice Ministry aims “to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls,” Justice Minister Mohamed al-Issa told al-Watan newspaper, partly owned by members of the royal family.
Saudi Arabia is a patriarchal society that applies an austere form of Sunni Islam that bans unrelated men and women from mixing and gives fathers the right to wed their sons and daughters to whoever they deem fit.
The minister's comments suggested the practice of marrying off young girls would not be abolished. The regulations will seek to “preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects of underage girls' marriage,” he said. >>> Reuters | Tuesday, April 14, 2009
