12-year-old Saudi girl in divorce battle with 80-year-old husband

12-year-old Saudi girl in divorce battle with 80-year-old husband

www .timesonline.co.uk

A 12-year-old girl fighting to divorce her 80-year-old husband in Saudi Arabia is to receive legal assistance from the Government in what could become a test case for banning child marriage in the kingdom.

The girl was married to her father’s cousin last year against her wishes and those of her mother. It was reported locally that the marriage was sealed with a dowry of 85,000 riyals (£14,500) and consummated.

The girl’s mother filed for divorce but withdrew her case without explanation this month.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Correct Link

[edit on 2/9/2010 by semperfortis]

This is the first time that the Human Rights Commission has intervened publicly in such a case.

The draft law is expected to establish a minimum age for marriage of between 16 and 18. As a short-term measure activists are pressing for the Government to ban notaries from sealing marriages of girls under 18.

I want to emphasis how it's the first time the Human Rights Commision has intervened. It's showing how traditionalist countries are actually adapting to the time and how they are hopefully banning child marriage.



www .timesonline.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 9/2/2010 by BlackPoison94]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I hope she gets her divorce.

reply to post by smyleegrl



Don't think that will happen. This happens regularly, just another example:

Saudi judge upholds marriage man, 47, to girl, 8



No divorce for 8 yr. old Saudi girl, says judge


And an expert explanation:




Waiting for the apologists to jump in.

reply to post by Mdv2

Waiting for the apologists to jump in.

I doubt if you'll find many apologists for pedophilia around here matey .

An ignorant bastard like myself, whose had the opportunity to reflect upon the institution of marriage via divorce. Sees it as nothing but an opportunity for the male to procure regular sex and maybe pass on a few genes.

Whether this is correct or not, the odds are that there will be quite a few other men who have not too dissimilar views. If these men just happen to live in an environment where the females are considered mere chattel then marrying these children is merely institutionalized pedophilia.


If I'm honest, I'm not at this point sure whether the Koran instructs the age of the girls to be married but it is quite clear that the Prophet Mohamed set a precedent which to my mind makes Mohamed a pedophile.


Political correction pushers in the west who harp on about social inclusion and multiculturalism should bare in mind that "some" of those that they pander to will have a deep rooted attitude of "if if their old enough to bleed their old enough to breed" in relation to their daughters.







[edit on 9-2-2010 by moocowman]

This kind of stuff is wrong on every level and it makes me cringe to think that people in this world are so cruel. Wasn't the exact same thing going on in Europe for centuries with the addition of incest at the highest levels of society? Sometimes its hard not to support depopulation efforts, just need bullets and bombs that kill only the cruel and willfully ignorant.

[edit on 2/9/2010 by budaruskie]

Originally posted by moocowman

the females are considered mere chattel then marrying these children is merely institutionalized pedophilia.

That's exactly what it is. I really cannot believe that we are even discussing this in today's day and age. The only things that are progressive in Arab countries are those things which are westernized. Otherwise it's a world caught in the dark ages.

If I'm honest, I'm not at this point sure whether the Koran instructs the age of the girls to be married but it is quite clear that the Prophet Mohamed set a precedent which to my mind makes Mohamed a pedophile.

I think you are sure... and it's patently obvious that the attitude toward this behavior is, "If it's good enough for Mohamed, it's good enough for me".

So... it's not only institutionalized, it's religiously indoctrinated and if Allah didn't smile upon it, they wouldn't do it. Simple!

IRM

Seriously? This is insane.

It was reported locally that the marriage was sealed with a dowry of 85,000 riyals (£14,500) and consummated.

Utterly disgusting.

I hope she gets the divorce. I think he should be jailed for life. Married or not that is sick.

Raist

What is truely unfortionate is the lack of rights women have in the Middle Eastern countries. If it would have happened here (hypothetically) she would take him for everything down to his walker. But due to where it is, she will probably have to pay him to leave the marrage...

[edit on 9-2-2010 by theflamingswan92]

If Saudi's uphold such barbaric practices, then they are all disgusting sick perverts. I don't care how PC it is to accept another's customs. When those customs include acts that anywhere on earth would land you in pedojail, there is no political correctness in that, that is called agreeing with it!!

What a bunch of sick disgusting perverted old men and sick customs. No wonder so many Americans are prejudiced against people from the Middle East. 90 lashes for a cell phone, buried alive for daring to speak to a boy, being forced to have SEX with an eighty year old scum bucket pedophile at 12 is not excusable!!!! There is only one word for this,



SICK.

I am really surprised this is not getting a bit more coverage.
Here is another link to the story by the way.
www.huffingtonpost.com...
www.timesonline.co.uk...
www.arabnews.com...
The link in the OP in not working properly.
Odd it seems she has changed her mind. I wonder if there was threat to health or life involved in that.

However on Monday in a court in Buraidah, in Al-Qasim province, the girl dropped the case. "I agree to the marriage. I have no objection. This is in filial respect to my father and obedience to his wish," she said according to Saudi media

My biggest problem is not with the marriage so much, though I must admit I am still shocked at the marriages that take place, but more so by the fact that it was consummated. I am sure there are some here that may not have a problem with it but it is still hebephilia at the least.

Raist

Just a curious thought....weren't there child marriages in the Middle Ages in the West? Marriage as a means of power and wealth, not for love.

Perhaps in the evolution of humanity, there is a developmental timeline, and viewing marriage as a union of love is more, for lack of a better word, "progressive?"

Or perhaps thats just a really retarded brain fart after a long day of work. IDK.

Either way, I feel for the girl.

I had a History teacher a couple years back who told me that she was legally married at the age of 12 to her husband. She was only in her late 30's so this must have been in the early '80s that this happened. She went on to say that her neise also got married at the age of 13 legally. It can happen even here in USA, but both parties must agree to it and be signed by both parents of both child. Someone over the age of 18 can even marry a 12 year old with these laws.

Other than the disturbing point of the story, may I point out what was also disturbing. It appears international groups are now allowed to get involved in the legal process of another country, while I agree with their reasoning I don't agree with their abilities to do so. I would not be suprised if the only reason KSA signs into law you must be 18 to get married is because the UN threatened them.

I personally say that when we established universal suffrage this should go for everything ranging from drinking, smoking, driving, working, parenting, marrying, divorcing, and everything else that legal adults shold be able to do should be allowed at 18. That is when you become an adult so why not give them 100% rights as adults to make their own choices.
EXAMPLE: USA the drinking age is 21 in all states. If you are an adult at 18 why would you have to wait 3 years to legally drink? It's just stupid.

reply to post by smyleegrl


It is not so much the issue of love that gives me issue with this. I will admit though it would be nice if marriage was for love and not for other purposes, but that is a stretch in even many American marriages.

My problem is not only the age difference as I can understand that this could take place due to reasons other than love such as you describe. Also I will admit the age difference is a bit worrying though.

I also do not have the biggest problem with the fact that he is the young girl’s cousin, since that sort of thing is bound to happen as well. I will admit though that is a bit of a disgusting factor in my book though.

My biggest issue with the whole thing is the idea that is was consummated. That is truly disturbing. I cannot imagine an 80 year old man having sex with a 12 year old girl and that being normal. It is this point alone that makes the story completely wrong. It is true the other issues do not help, but it is the act of sex between an 80 old man and a 12 year old girl that is most disturbing. To think that he thinks it is okay to have sex with a 12 year old is disturbing.

I think the only reason the girl changed her mind is either threat to her well being or a guilt trip handed to her by her husband about her dead father and his wishes.

Raist

I constantly see these threads were people bash the sexual practices of other countries.

The 8 year old was a little ridiculous. 12 is young for my taste, but let's not forget that 12 was common here in the US less than 100 years ago. 15 is still perfectly legal in most cases!

I work for Child Support Enforcement and we have a conundrum of policy. A 15 year old can be the legal guardian of a baby, and yet they cannot speak for themselves legally regarding any contracts or decision making???? They can solely make decisions for a baby that they cannot make for themselves???

Anyway, 12 year old and 80 year old seems ridiculous at first glance but who are we to draw the deciding line. Most would think that 16 and 17 would be ok, or 17 and 18, but I know of cases where men were arrested and parents were split up because a court decided that this was pedophilia?

What about 80 and 20? Legal, but sickening.

The point is, that unless this is my daughter or sister, I really have no right to dictate how someone else should act.

What if she was 20, and he was 30, but he paid $100,000 dowry. Would that make it ok because of their ages or would the dowry still make it sickening?

It isn't so simple as the modern press and headline seekers would like for it to be.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I do not think the country of origin matter in the least. If this were to occur in the U.S., I would have just as much of an issue with the subject.

Whether it happens or not (yes I understand it does happen) it is wrong. I have heard the argument that for years girls married young and that might or might not be so, I have seen evidence for both cases. The facts are though if life span were shorter back then and young girls married early on certainly their husbands were younger as well because after all life spans were shorter.


The country of origin though has no standing on my thoughts on this issue. 80 year old having sex with 12 year old cousin is wrong.

Raist

Originally posted by getreadyalready

I work for Child Support Enforcement and we have a conundrum of policy. A 15 year old can be the legal guardian of a baby, and yet they cannot speak for themselves legally regarding any contracts or decision making???? They can solely make decisions for a baby that they cannot make for themselves???

This is not entirely true. Someone who has birthed or sired a child has legally become emancipated as an adult.

In cases of child rape or incest, the resulting offspring usually becomes a ward of the court and the molested minor has a court-appointed guardian until the age of maturity (18) in which case emancipation does not apply.

I went to a school with a girl that said her mother got married at 13. Years later I was talking to her brother and he was saying that his father was old when he was born and died while he was still young. I told him that I thought his sister said that her mother got married when she was 13. He said that she was and his father was 42. They lived happily together until he died. The age difference is not as important as how they feel about each other. Other countries allow 12 year olds to marry legally. Face it, how many 80 year old men do you know that can have sex?

reply to post by MBF


Read the articles. It says the marriage was consummated.

I assume you know what that means. So this 80 year old was able to have sex.

Raist

Originally posted by whitewave

Originally posted by getreadyalready

I work for Child Support Enforcement and we have a conundrum of policy. A 15 year old can be the legal guardian of a baby, and yet they cannot speak for themselves legally regarding any contracts or decision making???? They can solely make decisions for a baby that they cannot make for themselves???

This is not entirely true. Someone who has birthed or sired a child has legally become emancipated as an adult.

In cases of child rape or incest, the resulting offspring usually becomes a ward of the court and the molested minor has a court-appointed guardian until the age of maturity (18) in which case emancipation does not apply.

Wrong. Sorry, but I deal with it dozens of times per day. The State of Florida doesn't recognize someone under the age of 18 as an adult when it comes to contracts. Child Support is a contract, and these poor girls are having to act as the legal guardian of a child, while at the same time they can't speak for themselves regarding child support from the father. They have to have a parent or guardian speak for them. If there is no parent or guardian, the court appoints a representative for them.

Let's recap: A 15 year old girl can decide the fate of her child, make health decisions, testify in custody hearings, make legal decisions, etc. BUT..... she cannot even talk on the phone to my office, because she is not an adult, and we have to speak to her legal guardian.

Our legal system is a mess!! If this same 15 year old were to commit a crime, she would probably be tried as an adult! She can't talk to one of my agents on the phone, but she can be sentenced to life in prison or worse?

I'm getting dizzy on my soap box, better step down!