Divorce Case prompts Saudis to question marriage age
April 29, 2010
The case of a 12-year-old Saudi Arabian girl who successfully won a divorce from her 80-year-old husband could prompt the Arab kingdom to introduce a minimum marriage age, the Telegraph of London reports.
The girl was 11 when she was wed against her wishes to her father's cousin last year in an arranged marriage in her hometown of Buraidah, near the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the Telegraph reported Thursday. Her father was paid a $23,350 dowry.
The girl, with the help of a lawyer from the state-run Human Rights Commission, has been trying to get out of the marriage and took her case to court in Buraidah. She recently reached an agreement with her family, and the divorce will be settled privately rather than in the courts.
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