http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=K7UBTTd3eB4

updated 12:40 p.m. EDT, Sun April 12, 2009

Saudi judge refuses to annul 8-year-old's

marriage
By Mohammed Jamjoom
CNN

(CNN) -- A Saudi judge has refused for a second time to annul a marriage between an 8-
year-old girl and a 47-year-old man, a relative of the girl told CNN.

The most recent ruling, in which the judge upheld his original verdict, was handed down
Saturday in the Saudi city of Onaiza, where late last year the same judge rejected a
petition from the girl's mother, who was seeking a divorce for her daughter.

The relative said the judge, Sheikh Habib Al-Habib, "stuck by his earlier verdict and
insisted that the girl could petition the court for a divorce once she reached puberty." The
family member, who requested anonymity, added that the mother will continue to pursue
a divorce for her daughter.

The case, which has drawn criticism from local and international rights groups, came to
light in December when al-Habib declined to annul the marriage on a legal technicality.
The judge ruled the girl's mother -- who is separated from the girl's father -- was not the
girl's legal guardian and therefore could not represent her in court, according to Abdullah
al-Jutaili, the mother's lawyer.

The girl's father, according to the attorney, arranged the marriage in order to settle his
debts with the man, who is "a close friend" of his. At the time of the initial verdict, the
judge required the girl's husband to sign a pledge that he would not have sex with her
until she reaches puberty, al-Jutaili told CNN. The judge ruled that when the girl reaches
puberty, she will have the right to request a divorce by filing a petition with the court, the
lawyer said.

Last month, an appeals court in the Saudi capital of Riyadh declined to certify the
original ruling, in essence rejecting al-Habib's verdict, and sent the case back to al-Habib
for reconsideration.

Under the complicated Saudi legal process, the appeals court ruling meant that the
marriage was still in effect, but that a challenge to the marriage was still ongoing. The
appeals court in Riyadh will now take up the case again and a hearing is scheduled for
next month, according to the relative.
The issue of child marriage has been a hot-button topic in the deeply conservative
kingdom recently. While rights groups have been petitioning the government to enact
laws that would protect children from this type of marriage, the kingdom's top cleric has
said that it's OK for girls as young as 10 to wed.

"It is incorrect to say that it's not permitted to marry off girls who are 15 and younger,"
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti, said in remarks last January
quoted in the regional Al-Hayat newspaper. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those
who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her."

Al-Sheikh reportedly made the remarks when he was asked during a lecture about parents
forcing their underage daughters to marry.

"We hear a lot in the media about the marriage of underage girls," he said, according to
the newspaper. "We should know that Sharia law has not brought injustice to women."

Sharia law is Islamic law. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam called
Wahhabism.

CNN was unable to reach government officials for comment.

Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch, told CNN in
December that his organization has heard of many other cases of child marriages.

"We've been hearing about these types of cases once every four or five months because
the Saudi public is now able to express this kind of anger -- especially so when girls are
traded off to older men," Wilcke said.

Wilcke explained that while Saudi ministries may make decisions designed to protect
children, "It is still the religious establishment that holds sway in the courts, and in many
realms beyond the court."

Last December, Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the Saudi government-run Human
Rights Commission, said his organization is fighting against child marriages.

"The Human Rights Commission opposes child marriages in Saudi Arabia," al-Harithi
said. "Child marriages violate international agreements that have been signed by Saudi
Arabia and should not be allowed." He added that his organization has been able to
intervene and stop at least one child marriage from taking place.

Wajeha al-Huwaider, co-founder of the Society of Defending Women's Rights in Saudi

Arabia, told CNN that achieving human rights in the kingdom means standing against
those who want to "keep us backward and in the dark ages."
She said the marriages cause girls to "lose their sense of security and safety. Also, it
destroys their feeling of being loved and nurtured. It causes them a lifetime of
psychological problems and severe depression."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UamNBfI5P8o&feature=channel_page

Does the USA have the right (or the responsibility) to confront Saudi Arabia or other
countries on the issue of child marriage?

Why?

If you believe the USA should approach the issue- present some ideas of how to go about
it.

If you believe that the USA should not become involved in the issue, discuss how the
issue should be handled (i.e. should something be done, or should it be left as it is?)

Name at least three arguments to support your opinions.