SAUDI ARABIA: Marriage Contract to Mention Bride's Age

The Ministry of Justice has began distributing new marriage contracts to marriage officials that contain a section that includes a question about bride's age, a move that has been described by human rights organizations and officials at the ministry as part of a new drive to stop underage marriages.

“The new marriage contracts represent a serious step to prevent the marriage of young girls,” said sources at the ministry.“There is a serious drive by the ministry to determine an age for girls to marry following the recent reporting of older men marrying young girls,” the sources added.

The sources also said they expect the government to enact legislation fixing the minimum marriage age. “By doing so the Kingdom will keep pace with other Arab and Muslim countries,” they added.

The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has hailed the move as a positive development. “The marriage of underage girls has been in the limelight for the past three years. A number of lawsuits have also been filed to stop fathers marrying off their underage girls to older men," said the NSHR's chairman, Mufleh Al-Qahtani.

Al-Qahtani said he hopes the system will be made clear to marriage officials, parents and would-be grooms. “We should have clear cut rules preventing the marriage of underage girls to ensure they are not hurt or harmed,” he said.

Many religious and legal organizations have been calling for an end to underage marriages and have called on the authorities to fix a minimum age.

The recent marriage of a man in his late 50s to an eight-year-old girl attracted a lot of public attention and debate. It has also been seen that many elderly men who are criticized for marrying young girls are reluctant to divorce them arguing that their marriages are legal.

Many marriage officials (ma'zouns) contacted by Arab News confirmed that they have received the new marriage contracts, which contain the section asking for brides' ages. “Such fields were not included in the old forms,” they said, adding that they expect the minimum marriage age to be around 17 or 18.

Lawyer Majed Garoub, chairman of the committee of lawyers at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said raising awareness among people is a crucial element to ensure the success of the new legislation.

He said legislation fixing the age of marriage will put an end to the issue, something that other Muslim countries have also dealt with by preventing the marriage of girls under 18. Garoub also called for new legislation governing Saudi men who marry women from foreign countries.