FOR many optimists who have been indescribably happy with the appointment of the first woman to serve as a deputy minister, the empowerment of women is crucial for the development of many sectors in the Kingdom, particularly those which attract wider base of women staffers such as health ministry, higher education and social services. Bringing qualified women into the mainstream of development in key ministries has become of a great importance for the socio-economic progress in the country. But on the community level, many parents are less inspired to follow suit and have always reacted negatively to any reformist step taken to ensure women's participatory stance in the public life. Further, some people have committed serious violations to the basic rights of women. Some young girls are denied an access to education, particularly higher one under the pretext that she has received enough education and any further education scheme is just a waste of time. Early marriage is another serious violation of the rights of the young girls. Last week, Al-Riyadh newspaper interviewed a heartbroken mother whose daughter, as young as a primary schoolgirl, was married to her father's friend. In an excruciatingly vivid tone, her mother called for a more firm action to rescue her girl from the irrational decision of the father and freeing her from an underage marriage. Onaiza Girl, as she is now nicknamed, is a nine-year-old primary schoolgirl. Instead of visiting a toy store and buying her a toy as a birthday present, her father brought her a husband five times her age. The marriage was arranged as part of a deal between the girl's father and her future husband without taking the girl's mother into account or taking girl's consent. After months of a legal battle, marriage was legally confirmed and the girl's right to request a divorce is, surprisingly, assured when the girl reaches puberly. Her mother did not know about the marriage until, accidently, a relative reported it to her nearly 10 months after the marriage papers were officially signed. “ I was shocked at knowing this though I had my own suspicions that her father could do it.” she added. She ridiculed the way the marriage was arranged saying that all papers were signed in another city miles away from the girl's hometown and her consent was not sought either. As a part of the marriage documentation, a sample of the girl's blood was taken at a local hospital for the regular blood test which is mandatory at all marriage seekers. The girl is still uninformed of her marital status since it is “sensitive to tell her about something in which she is not properly aware of”. The girl's mother has recently lost an appeal when the judge handling the case refused her request to get her daughter divorced. She finally urged officials to intervene and grant her daughter a divorce due to the fat that the girl is still young and is unaware of what marriage is all about. There are numerous reasons why some families prefer their underage daughters to get married. Among such reasons are the education level of parents, pressures from male guardians and a prevalent gender bias that advocates early marriage. Early marriage, furthermore, could arise from rampant misconceptions that a girl is a financial burden and marrying her off is a way to reduce one's expenditures. Several health reports indicate that child marriage poses a great threat to the girl's physical and emotional health. It is highly likely that the girl as old as 10 years has not matured enough to handle her marital life. From a physical perspective, it is common for married girl to become pregnant at an incredibly young age. This implies that the little girl would adopt a mother's role by raising children and catering for them. Earlier marriage is also responsible for many stress-related cases resulting largely from the girl's inability to cope with her current status as a wife. The impact of such type of stress is devastating to the girl's emotional health and may develop into a full psychological disorder. This may lead to the girl being divorced and left in a state of desperation for the rest of her life. In the end, early marriage is a violation of the basic rights of a child. A clear and unambiguous legal framework that prohibits such marriages is needed and a full implementation of such proposed legislation is required so that this inhumane practice against our young daughters would be eradicated for good.
