A grandfather here was allegedly beaten to death by his own son with a blow to the head after he tried to prevent the marriage of his granddaughter to an 80-year-old man. Noora Sho'an, a minor, was married to an octogenarian seven months ago, but was saved from the marriage when her story was published in Okaz/Saudi Gazette. A Saudi philanthropist from Jeddah read about her plight and paid the dowry to the husband so he could divorce her. Noora now has mixed feelings of sorrow and fears the future. Her grandfather is dead while her father, the alleged killer, is in jail and will be arraigned soon. She lives with her blind grandmother and her younger sister who fears the same fate. Noora's mother was divorced by her father a few years ago. Noora grew up hearing the quarrels between her grandfather and her father about attempts to marry her. Her father wanted to force her to marry a very old man. Noora said her grandfather told her father he would never allow it as long as he was alive. “Okaz/Saudi Gazette helped me a lot when they told my story to the public. My father married me to an old man for money and used the money to buy a car but a philanthropist paid SR17,000 to the old man to divorce me.” “I thought my case was over and the problem was solved. However, two months later, evil intentions, Satanic whispers and greed drove my father to try to marry me again to another very old man for money. I refused to marry him and so did my grandfather and grandmother. We all said no to this unequal marriage.” “I felt secure and protected when my grandfather was alive but after he left me, who was going to help me and stand by me except Allah the Almighty? My grandmother is very old and blind. My eight-year-old sister is still too young. And my mother left us years ago and married another man,” said Noora. A source close to the family, who prefers anonymity, said that Noora was suffering from severe psychological problems because of the quarrels between her father and grandfather over her marriage. Her psychological state worsened following the death of her grandfather, her only protector. The source said that Noora's father held a grudge against the grandfather for preventing him marrying Noora to an old man. Noora's father wanted to get married again after divorcing Noora's mother. He, therefore, decided to marry her to an old man for money, said the source. The son then allegedly hit his father with a stick on his head after which the latter died. The father was thrown in prison and is awaiting trial. The source said one of Noora's cousins took her, her grandmother and four younger siblings from Al-Mabrookah village. Okaz/Saudi Gazette searched for eight hours and eventually found the family in Masliah village, east of Beesh. The grandmother appeared senile with a poor vision. “This is a time of great sorrow. My husband is dead and my son is in prison,” she said, adding that her son was a victim of his own greed and bad companions who brainwashed him into killing his father. She is very worried about her grandchildren's future now that their father, their sole bread winner, has been incarcerated. Recommendations on minor marriages Various organizations have called for a law banning the marriage of girls under 18 years of age; and that international child protection laws should be enforced. Courts and legal registrars of marriages should be banned from solemnizing minor marriages and violators should be penalized and their names published in local newspapers. It has also been proposed that the mass media start campaigns to educate the general public about these types of marriages. Research centers should conduct studies to determine the extent of the problem and recommend solutions. It is also recommended that parents living in rural and Bedouin areas should be educated and that the Board of Senior Ulema should issue religious decrees disallowing these types of marriages. Countries where minor marriages are rampant n Egypt, Yemen, Afghanistan, Congo, India, Bangladesh, Chad, Mali and Nepal. n Over 3,000 Saudi girls under 13 years of age were forced to marry men 25 years older than them. Minor marriages: Vital statistics n Between 40 and 50 percent of girls under 18 years of age are forced to marry in developing countries, while 52 percent of girls under 15 are forced to marry in Yemen. __
