Saudi official denies news of marriage of female minors of 8 and 9
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A Saudi Minor
By Iqbal Tamimi
The chief of Fayada centre at Alnbhanah province of Qassim, Mr Snead bin Sanad Almethaiypri, denied the circulated news about the marriage of, “two female minors” studying at primary school in classes III and IV. Almethaiypri said to Alriyadh newspaper “ the two girls, named Atqa’a and Reemiyeh, are aged 14 and 15 years, not 8 and 9.
The news circulated claimed two men will be celebrating their weddings to those two girls during the holiday Eid al-Adha in few days.
Almethaiypri said to Alriyadh newspaper “ the two girls, named Atqa’a and Reemiyeh, are aged 14 and 15 years, not 8 and 9 years old as circulated by the media, and the two girls, according to tribal customs and practice were wed officially according to documented contracts two years ago, but did not join their husbands yet”.
The Chief of Fayada Centre said that he received a phone call from The Human Rights Commission about this case and he declared that there is an inclination to file a law case against the media that circulated the news about the marriage, pointing out that the information circulated is not totally accurate, that it has harmed the reputation of the two girls and the reputation of the Centre.
It is worth mentioning that such girls wouldn’t be even present for the marriage certificate procedures. Ahmed Al-Mobi, a marriage official in Jeddah told Arab News that some of these marriages take place at the insistence of the male guardian, mainly the father. “The father is hell bent to marry off his daughter to an elderly man, and in this situation, there’s nothing we can do but just certify the union. Because it is legal,” Al-Mobi said.
