A group of Saudi experts in law and medicine have called for working out a law that would ban marriages between minors. They also appealed to scholars at the Board of Senior Ulema and Ministry of Justice to intervene to prevent sermonizing such marriages, citing serious health effects and contradictions with international protocols and agreements signed by the Kingdom. They said medical studies had proven that the most suitable marriage age for girls is between 19 and 25. They stressed that any marriage before this age will have negative consequences on the young girls, both psychologically and physically, especially if and when they get pregnant. The studies showed that pregnancy endangers the lives of underage women. Physicians warned that women who get pregnant at very young ages run the risk of developing eclampsia, a toxic condition of unknown causes that sometimes develops in the last three months of pregnancy, characterized by high blood pressure, abnormal wait gain and convulsions. Pregnancy at these young ages may also be associated with anemia and other complications that eventually lead to the death of the fetus. Additionally, these marriages violate the Child's Rights Agreement, to which the Kingdom is one of the signatories. According to the report published by the Arabic daily Al-Riyadh last week, the youngest groom in the world is an 11-year-old boy who had married his 10-year–old cousin. In another news that broke out last week, a judge in Hail had passed a verdict against the youngest ever wife for disobeying and abandoning her 76 year old husband. The news story said that bride's father had married off his daughter to the old man 13 years ago, when she was only 10. The judge ruled against her on the premise that the wife, now 23, had walked out on her husband after 13 years of marriage, which, according to the judge, constitutes a violation of Shariah. The judge ordered her to refund the SR100,000 dowry in return of her freedom because she is considered in Shariah as “Nashiz,” or a recalcitrant woman. Hadi Al-Yami, a legal advisor and member of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, said the phenomenon of marriage between minors is more common in rural areas because of lack of awareness among parents, and especially fathers. Another factor, he said, is the lack of control minors should enjoy over their lives in these areas. “Being too young, they will not be able to understand the negative social consequences of such marriage,” he said. “Yet they have no a say in their marriage. Thus the parents bear the whole responsibility.” He added that such marriages might be attributed to the parents' sheer greed for money, or their lack of basic Shariah knowledge. Dr. Abdurrahman Bin Abdullah Al-Sobahi, an expert on childhood at the National Childhood Committee, expressed regret that at a time when the world is advancing in countless fields, there are still some people who live in the dark ages. “Despite all the efforts being made by the government for the development of this country in all walks of life, we find some people who are adamant on staying behind,” he said. “The phenomenon of marriage between minors has social, medical, psychological and economic dimensions,” he added. “The compounding of all these factors aggravates the problem further, for it touches a weak segment in the society who can't decide for themselves.” Sobahi said children at such young ages are not educated enough to realize the negative social dimensions of these marriages. “However, this explains to us the tremendous amount of pressure their parents exert on them to accept such marriages,” he said. The parents, he said, should be fully held accountable for these marriages, which in most cases don't last long. “In the first place, the couples' fathers should be punished for this shameful act in case a law is worked out in the future,” he said. Dr. Sobahi said the effects resulting from these marriages are very destructive, which are reflected in receiving enough of the paternal love that they deserve when they reach adolescence. “They (young couples) enter marital life while lacking this love, which make them feel insecure to the rest of their lives,” he said, adding that one cannot give love without getting it. “This deficiency generates in them aggressiveness and hostility, he said, adding that this clearly explains why the marital lives of this group is characterized by violence. “Being emotionally immature will definitely lead to family breakup,” said Sobahi. “Thus it is no surprise that these marriages don't last for long. Either way, the innocent couples are the victims, as well as the offspring they produce.” Dr Muneera Al-Akkas, Director of School Management and Supervisor General at King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue in Makkah Region, described marriage among minors as an unforgivable crime that deprives children of their innocence. “It stigmatizes the society because of its impacts socially, economically, psychologically and politically,” she said. Medical reports reflect a tangible – and dire – image of the most negative effects of this kin of marriage. Most girls who get married at very young ages die during the child delivery process, and so do their fetuses, said Akkas. The primary negative economic impact of these marriages lies in that very young couples can never lead an independent economic life, which would affect not only them, but also their children, because such financial dependency eventually yields recklessness and irresponsibility. Dr. Akkas said these marriages constitute a flagrant violation of the international accords signed by the Kingdom on children's rights. “If we look into the Kingdom's status at the regional and international levels, this malpractice tarnishes the Kingdom's image as well as the efforts being made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and officials in depicting the lofty status of the Kingdom, the cradle of Islam,” she said. Yami said the Kingdom had signed the Child's Rights Convention in 1996, adding that one of its provisions defines a child as a human being below 18 years of age. He pointed out that Article 24 of the convention makes it inevitable for the signatories to adopt all necessary and effective measures to protect children from practicing any of the traditions that may harm their health “Whoever ponders over this article can easily find that this provision clearly refers to early marriages,” he said. “Thus, marriage between minors in the Kingdom is very embarrassing for the Kingdom on an international level. Some people abroad may wrongly think that this is done with the blessings of the authorities in the Kingdom.” Yami said the elimination of the phenomenon necessitates a law that strictly prohibits marriages between minors in the Kingdom, so that whoever violates this law will be criminalized accordingly. Dr. Akkas also suggested launching an intensive awareness campaign in audiovisual media to enlighten people about the dangers of these marriages.
