Saudi girl, 17, refuses to marry man in his 90s

Riyadh, Nov 12:

A Saudi Arabian court has supported a duped teenaged girl who refused to marry a man of her grandfather’s age after her father showed her a youngster for the matrimonial alliance.

file pic
file pic

The girl filed the law suit to abort her marriage contract after discovering that the man, all set to be her husband, was not the same person initially shown to her for her consent, the Gulf News reported Wednesday.

According to the case papers, the dramatic situation came to the attention of the police when security authorities in the southern area of Jazan were investigating a plea by the girl to rescue her from her father who insisted on her marriage to an old man living in Madina city.

The girl said her father had told her that a handsome young man in his 20s wanted to marry her. He later brought the young man home and the girl gave her consent for wedding.

However, when the marriage contract was drawn up later, she was shocked to see the groom’s date of birth showed he was in his 90s, a media report said.

She eventually discovered her father had planned to marry her off to the old man.

According to the local traditions, the bride’s custodian signs the marriage contract.

The girl, who was living with her divorced father, told police that she could not accept the marriage and preferred to leave home and ask for legal assistance. She said her father had bought her a ticket to go to Madina and join her husband.

The case was eventually taken to the court which on Tuesday issued its verdict to declare the marriage “null and void”.

(IANS)

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