A court here has delayed its verdict into the marriage of an 80-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl until next Monday, so that it can first hear testimony from the bride. Judge Ibrahim Al-Omar had earlier listened to the arguments of the child's lawyer Saleh Al-Dabibi, who was hired by the Muwada Charity Organization headed by Princess Sara Bint Musa'ed Bin Abdul Aziz. Al-Dabibi called for an immediate divorce between the two and for punishment to be meted out to the child's father and the 80-year-old husband. “This marriage does not meet the conditions of legal consent of the bride,” he said. He called for the courts to remove the father as the legal guardian of the daughter as per Islamic rulings in these types of cases. Al-Dabibi argued that the mother of the child should have full guardianship. The lawyer based his case, for the annulment of the marriage, on verses from the Qur'an, arguing for the fulfillment of Islamic legal conditions for the marriage, including a wise and more conscious guardian. The case has become of public interest, Al-Dabibi said. During the hearing, the father said that he did not make use of his daughter's SR85,000 dowry. “It has gone into a savings account for her,” he said. The marriage contract of the child was signed in Ramadan, last September, and the wedding ceremony was held a few weeks ago. The mother, who is separated from the father, said she was not consulted about the marriage. The father had simply reported the news to her after the marriage had taken place, she said. “I told him I would not accept it now because she was still too young, but he did not listen to me,” she said. The 80-year-old husband said that his child bride had agreed to the marriage and “wasn't forced into it”. The man, who is a nomad, said that he invited the mother to attend the wedding, but she did not come. The man has married three times before. Monday's hearing was attended by the Human Rights Commission's head Bandar Al-Aiban. “The mother of the Buraidah girl asked for our help, to help her daughter get a divorce,” Al-Aiban said. “Child marriages are rare in the Qassim region,” a court official said, refusing to label it as a common practice in the region. This is the only child marriage case being seen in Qassim's courts, he said. The only legislative body responsible for enacting laws against child marriages in the Kingdom is the Council of Senior Ulema (Scholars), the official said. He expected new laws against this type of marriage to be announced soon. Al-Aiban had said in June that the government was working on new regulations to impose a minimum age for marrying that could range from 16 to 18 years. A senior scholar, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manie, recently said that the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to a nine-year-old girl some 14 centuries ago cannot be used to justify child marriages today. Al-Manie said that circumstances were different today from when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married young Aisha – may Allah be pleased with her. Lady Aisha's marriage “cannot be equated with child marriages today because the conditions and circumstances are not the same,” Al-Manie said.
