In the American news today, I heard that a child of 13 had been taken from her parents and put into foster care because she had cancer and her parents were unwilling to give her radiation therapy. The law intervened to protect the child’s best interest when her parents were thought to be acting negligently.
On the other side of the world, and on the other end of the scale, another channel broadcasts the violation of a child’s rights with the “blessing” of the law. On a TV program called “Your Counselor,” which airs weekly on Saudi TV Channel 1, a woman caller shared her heart-wrenching story last week. When she decided to remarry, her ex-husband took custody of their little girl and married the child off when she was in 4th Grade. The little girl was divorced less than a year later and the woman is now seeking to regain custody of her daughter — to no avail.
In reply to the woman’s pleas for help, the “counselor” shakes his head sadly and says, “I do not know who to blame — her father, the man who married her or the judge who married them.”
Well, I know very well who to blame: The legislators who allowed it to happen by not specifying an age limit for marriage. What kind of judge would allow a twisted man to sexually abuse a child? If the parents of such little girls do not know better, then it is up to the law to protect the children. Where are their rights as human beings, as innocent children?
While some Saudis are ignorant of it, stories like the one above do happen in our society. Especially in rural and poor areas there are many heartbreaking stories of young girls who have been “married” at the age of nine or ten, and more often than not, divorced before becoming teenagers.
In a recent attempt to change some laws regarding guardians forcing women into marriage, several women managed to convince our legislators to implement laws that punish guardians who force a woman to marry. By the same logic, any marriage involving a child should automatically be considered a forced marriage. How can a child agree to something she does not understand? How can a little girl of 10 or 11 be anyone’s wife? How can any sexual contact with a child of that age be anything but rape?
In a land known for handing down the harshest punishments when it comes to rape, it does seem ironic that many little girls are raped with the blessing of the state. Just because a pedophile has a marriage certificate does not make the brutal act anything less than rape. Just because the child’s guardian has consented to the act does not make it anything less than a violation of the child’s honor and dignity as a human being. Just because a judge blessed the brutal act does not make the union right in the eyes of God or anyone possessed of common sense.
We all shake our heads sadly when we hear of child prostitution or child labor in the Far East — and, of course we never forget to praise Allah that we have been blessed with our religion. I find this very hypocritical when the very same thing is happening in our country, under our eyes, with the blessing of our own legal system. How dare we view ourselves as a morally superior nation when we cannot even protect our own children from domestic violence; when our laws allow such a violation of the most basic human right?
It is the job of our human rights organization to take on these little girls’ cause. It is our job to contact that organization and others to make them aware of these violations. Our legislators must be persuaded to set an age limit for marriage. Keeping in mind that in Islam there is no age limit for marriage, the task will not be an easy one. I know of several attempts that have been stopped by judges who say that they will not forbid something that is not prohibited in Islam. My reply to that: Islam, the Islam I know, is innocent of child molestation, abuse and rape. The Islam I know is one that protects human dignity and honor. The Islam I know is one that views children as blessings from God who should be protected, loved and raised in the gentlest, purest way. And, finally, the Islam I know dictates that if we see a vice being committed, we should try to change it.
In fact, it was on that very basis that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was established. This commission has almost limitless power. Why are they not using it to prevent “real” vices? These little girls are being sold to be raped. If that is not the most heinous vice, then I do not know what is. If the law is not prepared to prevent these crimes, then it is up to us — the educated, the caring, the humane — to change a law that is so deeply flawed.
(Mody Al-Khalaf is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.)
