Saudi Court Refuses to Annul Marriage of 8-Year-old to 58-Year-Old Man

A Saudi court has refused to annul the marriage of an eight-year-old girl who was married off by her father to a 58-year-old man. The Unayzah court says that it would prefer the girl to remain married to the man until she reaches puberty — a curious solution to child abuse. The girl’s divorced mother has been trying to annul the marriage.

In an outrageous decision, the court ruled that the mother did not have the right to file such an action despite the fact that she is the biological mother of a child and the child is in a clearly harmful position. Instead, the judge wants to wait to see if the girl will want to file after staying married until the age of puberty.

The father insists that he protected his daughter by getting a handshake deal with the man not to consummate the marriage until she is 18. He needed the money that the man was willing to give for his daughter.

This is of course nothing new in the region, here and here and here and here.

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