Saudi Girl in Divorce Battle

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia– In what could become a test case for banning child marriage in Saudi Arabia, a twelve-year-old girl is seeking to divorce her eighty-year-old husband.  It is believed that the girl will receive legal assistance from the government.

The state run Human Rights Commission has hired a lawyer to represent the girl when she takes her case to court in Buraidah, a conservative town near the capital Riyadh.  Currently, Saudi Arabia has no minimum legal age for marriage and it is fairly common for girls in the poorer, tribal areas to be married off.  Nonetheless, it is rare for a child bride to challenge the arrangement.

The young girl was married to her father’s cousin last year against both the wishes of her and her mother.  Locally, reports suggest that the marriage was sealed with a dowry of 85,000 riyals and subsequently consummated.  The girl’s mother filed for divorce, but withdrew her case earlier this month without explanation.

A draft law prohibiting child marriage is under discussion within the Saudi government, and activists hope that the case will be a watershed moment for the eventual implementation of an age minimum.  While no minimum currently exists, the draft law is expected to establish a minimum age for marriage between sixteen and eighteen.  Until a decision is reached, the government is seeking to ban notaries from sealing marriages for girls under the age of eighteen.

The government’s proposal of legal assistance would be the first time that the Human Rights Commission has publicly intervened in a case.  Alanoud al-Hejailan, a lawyer for the commission, said “Our main concern is to safeguard the child’s rights; it is in the hands of the court but the commission is firmly on the child’s side.”  It is believed that the court will have a ruling within the next few days.  If the divorce is not granted, the commission has suggested that it will pursue the matter through the appellate process if need be.

For more information, please see:

AOL News- Saudi Arabia Shifts Course on Child Marriage– 9 February 2010

Times Online- Twelve-Year-Old Saudi Girl in Divorce Battle with Eight-Year-Old Husband– 9 February 2010

Reuters- Saudi Rights Panel Takes Up Child Bride Case– 8 February 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive