Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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 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.
Why should the judge annul the marriage simply because the girl is 8 years old? Islam's prophet married a girl 9 years old so they're only following in the tradition of their prophet.
After reading this article, two things become quite evident.
The first, is that for some hiding behind Islam is a great way to treat females as chattal and get away with it.
Al-Jutaili said the girl's father arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, "a close friend" of his.
and
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."
On the other hand, there are obviously very brave and very fed up people who are willing to voice their dissent and hopefully they will be able to change such an incredibly repressive society. Child marriage and rape are not culturally, and are not sharia. These groups that are battling this have all my respect.
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."
and
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."
On the other hand, there are obviously very brave and very fed up people who are willing to voice their dissent and hopefully they will be able to change such an incredibly repressive society. ....
Good point. It is amazing how people hide behing religion (or flag) to justify things. Fighting them in a country like Saudi takes a lot of courage. I think sometimes such incidents are probably not even reported as there are not many willing to fight.
I think the self criticisms from those in the culture count for much more. That in and of itself being permitted is progress. The trend for reform should make the islamic community look hard at their faith and revise conclusions that honor the faith. This tradition isn't limited to islam in history of the world. Sects of mormons have done this in america in our lifetime as well. I disagree with it and refuse to participate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
....I have TEN year old daughter and I can tell you this makes my skin crawl.
