An 8-year-old Saudi girl has received a divorce from her 50 year-old husband.
Wired PR News – An 8-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia has been granted a divorce from her 50 year-old husband. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the child was forced by her father to marry the middle-aged man in exchange for the estimated sum of over $13,000.
As noted in the report, Saudi Arabia has been the subject of much criticism for allowing marriages involving children. A court rejected a petition by the mother of the young girl for a divorce prior to it being granted. Consent is required by a woman before marriage in accordance with Saudi Arabia law; however, this is reportedly not always enforced.
Sohaila Zain al-Abdeen, a Saudi human rights activist, is quoted in the report as stating to the Associated Press (AP), Unfortunately, some fathers trade their daughters…They are weak people who are sometimes in need of money and forget their roles as parents.”
