A 12-year-old girl fighting to divorce her 80-year-old husband in Saudi Arabia is to receive legal assistance from the Government in what could become a test case for banning child marriage in the kingdom.
The state-run Human Rights Commission has hired a lawyer to represent the girl when she takes her case to court in Buraidah, a conservative town near the capital Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia has no minimum legal age for marriage and it is common in poorer, tribal areas for girls to be married off. However, it is rare for a child bride to challenge the match.
A draft law prohibiting child marriage is under discussion and activists hope that the case will be a watershed in the campaign to ban the practice. Read More
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Tuesday 9 February 2010
12-year-old Saudi girl in divorce battle with 80-year-old husband
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