The Buraidah General Court is to launch an inquiry into whether a 12-year-old girl was forced to remain married to an 80-year-old man. The girl had earlier wanted the marriage annulled. However, she later told the court she would remain married to the man because she wanted to obey her father. The court is scheduled to consider the matter on March 1 this year. The girl's father had married her off to the elderly man for a SR85,000 dowry. An informed source said that the court wanted to confirm that she was not placed under any pressure to change her mind. Once it is verified that there was no pressure or intimidation practiced on the girl, the judge Ibrahim Al-Amr would issue a reconciliation document, based on all parties dropping their legal action. Lawyer Saleh Al-Dubaibi, who has been employed by the Mawaddah Charitable Society to look into this case, demanded that the decision of the girl should be reconsidered by the judge, in the presence of the Human Rights Commission and an independent judicial authority. Al-Dubaibi said he wanted the judge to divorce the child from the elderly man. He said he would also ask for a meeting with the girl to inform her that she has the right to demand a divorce without fear of being harmed. The Buraidah girl had surprised the judge during a previous court session when she said that she did not want to annul her marriage. She said that the marriage took place “with my consent, and when the marriage official (Ma'zoun) asked me for my opinion, I accepted the marriage in obedience to my father.” Her mother, who is divorced from her father, also surprised the court by dropping the lawsuit she had filed to annul her daughter's marriage to the man. The mother said she would not pursue any legal action if her child was allowed to complete her education. She also wanted custody of her son, as a condition for dropping her lawsuit.
