Saudi 'eyes minimum age for marriage'

Steps are being taken in Saudi Arabia to set the minimum age for marriage at 16, according to the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

Commission chiefs say the kingdom's Ministry of Justice has started to study ways to set a minimum age and that brides will have to be 16 or over for the marriage to be legal.

“The Justice Ministry’s initiative is a good sign and we absolutely welcome and support it. We will join all efforts to eliminate this phenomenon,” said Zuhair Al-Harithy, the HRC’s official spokesman in comments published by Arab News on Tuesday.

“The commission’s view on this matter is clear. We are completely against it. We have stated more than once that such marriages violate international agreements concerning children,” he told the paper.

The HRC has recently taken an active role against marriages involving children, and was able to annul the marriage between a 60-year-old man and a 10-year-old girl.

Commenting on recent remarks made by Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia that the Shariah allows the practice of pre-teen girls getting married, Harithy said the HRC respected different opinions and points of view, but times have changed.

“How can a young child be aware of what a marriage is? The girl has to agree to the marriage. The main condition of a marriage contract is the bride’s acceptance,” he said.

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