By DAMMAM: ARAB NEWS
The Justice Ministry will soon make an announcement to establish the age of consent for Saudi women to marry, local daily Al-Madinah reported yesterday quoting an official source at the ministry.
Director of the Department of Marriage at the ministry Muhammad Al-Babtain said a decision on the issue would soon be announced following the agreement of departments in the ministry involved on deciding on an age of consent.
“The project was discussed by a number of government departments concerned. The ministry deemed it appropriate to decide a certain age for the marriage of the underage girls taking into account its social and psychological aspects,” he said.
Al-Babtain declined to reveal the age of consent for marriage, but said the issue was still being discussed.
He said fixing an age for the marriage of young girls is commensurate with Shariah rules and the culture of the society. “Underage marriages are permissible under Islamic law,” he explained.
Al-Babtain pointed out the ministry had prepared a Shariah-based study that confirmed that marrying young girls was not against Shariah rules.
He refuted allegations, however, that the ministry had abstained from fixing a definite age for the marriage of young girls and said the ministry had maintained a solid stand on the issue and would support any move aimed at organizing such marriages to ensure the safety and security of young girls.
Al-Babtain made it clear that it was not only the ministry which would take a decision on the issues but the matter was of concern to many other government departments.
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Categories: Asia, Family values, gender, Human Rights, Human values, Islam, Marriage, Religious Values, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Sharia Law, Women Rights, Women's fertility
My personal view: I am not against setting an ‘age of consent’. What I am against is the Western Human Rights Lobby who is asking for an age of consent that is higher than the age of sexual activity. For a Muslim the age of consent for marriage is identical with the age of the start of sexual activity. In the West these two ‘dates’ are not even remotely considered to be linked.
“Al-Madinah also quoted another official as saying the Ministry of Justice is planning to make it compulsory for all Saudi men and women intending to get married for the first time to go through rigorous training on married life”
What the training will be all about?
Probably as follows: “Do not divorce your wife just because she wants to go shopping in Paris while you want to go shopping in London”… (Just fly to London via Paris…)