Taylor Westlake
April 17, 2009
1:00pm
In Saudi many children are being married to men that are 39 years their senior. Because of the head minister is trying to make a law stating that this should not be acceptable or legal. Their are girls as young as seven and eight that are being married to these men. When the parents try to go to the courts and have the marriage annuled or to get a divorce the judges will not grant them that or allow it to happen. The law will state restrictions on the practice to perserve the rights of children and to prevent abuses. It is not yet said or known if the will have the child marriages abloished, we just know of the law that they are wanting to have passed. Al-Jutaili is a lawyer for a girl's mother who was married at a young age says that " this is what we wanted from day one, and this is what they are working so hard to get resolved and not have this issue." They want this law to pass so much, they don't want these children to get married at such a young age and they don't want the abuse to happen. They believe that letting this happen is a violation of the rights of these children, a violation of human rights, and a violation of their childhood, which they would never have.
I believe that allowing these girls to get married at such a young age is wrong. No girl that is eight years old is able to be a wife when they haven't even had the chance of being a child. They are taking away the childrens rights of being a child and not letting them grow up and learn. They have to have experience in their lives before they can take on such a task of being a wife and then soon after being a mother. Most of these girl's if not all have yet to reach puperty. I don't think that once they reach that time in their life is the time when they can try and go to the courts and annul the marriage or to get a divorce. This law really needs to pass and it needs to be in affect ASAP! Young girls are not to be wives, they are to be children!
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/15/saudi.child.bride/index.html
3 comments:
WOW!! it still amazes me he cultural differences in what is acceptable marriage customs from on race, ethnicity, culture, and country to another!
I totally agree my jaw dropped thinking that my 8 yr old cousin would be getting married to someone much older. No one at that age is ready to become a wife or a mother. I think it is said that they are ripping these children of their childhood. Adonya you are right it is so strange to think about the cultural differences and what to us is outrageous to them its their way of life
Hi,
Actually I am from Saudi Arabia and I am amazed too by this news, it is not a customary or a normal think to happen here.
Every country in the whole world have some deranged and I would say "Backward" people, and I admit we have them here too. This doesn't make us all bad as having the “KKK” doesn't make all Americans resists.
It was my pleasure to have this opportunity and post this comments (which is my first by the way).
Regards,
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