This was the headline of a news report carried by Al-Watan Arabic newspaper the other day. I was dismayed after reading the report. This seems to be a credible story prepared by three reporters — Abdullah Al-Nahdi, Aziza Yami and Badour Al-Asiri.
The revelations were quite disturbing, as the father married off his child for material gain.
The barbaric practice of burying girls alive that prevailed in the pre-Islamic period was out of fear of social ignominy.
But now people are marrying off their minor girls as a means to buy expensive cars to show off their pride. Certainly, this is a manifestation of the selfishness of man.
However, I believe that while this selfishness could be comprehensible to others, it should in no way transcend into parenthood.
In this example, the poison of selfishness spilled over.
This is the reason for my dismay. How can one become so selfish that he would sell off his young daughter for any amount of money.
I think that there are two major reasons for this disaster. The first one is that there have been no binding laws or regulations to stop the practice of marrying off minor girls to weak-minded people, who are blackmailing parents and buying young girls as if they are animals.
I totally agree with the opinion of the activist Fawziya Al-Oyouni, who called for the introduction of strict rules and regulations to protect the rights of children.
She underlined the need for cracking down on child marriages by punishing marriage officials who sanction these unions.
The imam of Al-Shafie Mosque in the southern town of Najran, Sheikh Hilal bin Al-Ahmad Al-Radeef, who is also a noted marriage official, said in one of his Friday sermons: “Often, marriage officials are not taking into account the age of the would-be bride. This is because Ministry of Justice directives are more concerned with the job of the bride-to-be. In other words, is a man ready to allow his wife to continue her studies and then take up a job, or not?
“The marriage official is mainly focused on the relationship between the couple and the implementation of legal conditions and regulations set by the Ministry of Justice such as the presence of witnesses and guardians, dowry, employment status of the bride and the results of medical tests.
“As for the age of the bride, Shariah law does not compel the marriage officials to ask a girl’s consent for the marriage if she is under the age of nine. In such cases, they listen to her legal guardian.”
This model is something that takes into consideration the values of humanity and adhering to regulations as well as customs and traditions. But many people do not realize the value of childhood because of their beast-like voracity.
The second reason is a social one. If the parents have even the slightest trace of humanity in them and compassionate feelings toward others, as well as respect for women as human beings and not as commodities, then no doubt this phenomenon must be ended.
The problem is that parents of minor girls want to continue practicing such customs and traditions because worldly pleasures of the contemporary age have poisoned their sense of humanity. Subsequently, fathers like huge bank deposits as much as they like their sons and daughters.
This forces me to ask a painful question. What is the value of a society that spoils the childhood of its girls?
([email protected])
