MARRIAGE CONTRACT TO MENTION BRIDE’S AGE

MARRIAGE CONTRACT TO MENTION BRIDE’S AGE

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August 12, 2022

The Ministry of Justice in Saudi Arabia 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 organisations 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 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.