A national committee in Saudi Arabia has been formed to protect underage girls from being coerced into controversial marriages with much older men, local press reported Saturday.
The committee is made up of representatives from the ministers of interior and justice as well as the national Human Rights Commission (HRC) and other relevant bodies under the chairmanship of lawyer Sultan bin Zahem, who was also chosen by HRC to investigate the latest case of underage marriage, known as the Buraidah Girl case, the Saudi newspaper al-Riyadh reported Saturday.
The father of an 11 year old girl from Buraidah, in the central province of al-Qassim, gave his daughter in marriage to an 80 year old man in return for a hefty dowry against the wishes of her mother.
The mother filed a divorce lawsuit, but later dropped it after the girl, who had initially profusely protested, told the court that the marriage was done with her consent.
The newly-formed committee will aim to ensure that no girl under the age of 18 gets married without her consent, said Sultan bin Zahem.
“This committee investigates the circumstances of a marriage to ensure that it is done for the benefit of the girl and not for other reasons such as, for example, the father receiving a large dowry,” he told the paper.
The committee is currently drafting a law that, if approved by the king, would stipulate that an official permission would be necessary for all marriages of girls under 18.
Regarding the mother’s decision to drop the divorce petition, Zahem stated that it is a personal matter that does not by any means reflect the committee’s consent to the marriage.
“Obviously some financial settlement took place and made the mother drop the lawsuit.”
Zahem explained that the girl is a minor, thus she is immature and her will is incomplete, which makes it up to her guardian, the father in this case, to approve the marriage.
“The guardian’s approval should be contingent upon the girl’s welfare, but if the marriage is approved for financial reasons then it becomes invalid.”
In this case, Zahem added, the marriage contract is based on what he calls “corrupt will” because the guardian did not give priority to the bride.
“To redress such a mistake and to render the contract legitimate, the guardian has to return the dowry money to the husband and a divorce should take place. Then the terms of the marriage can be negotiated in a way that is beneficial for the bride and another contract has to be made.”
This way, Zahem explained, the girl’s happiness is secured and the guardian is not placed in a situation where his integrity is questioned.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).
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