By DONNA ABU-NASR – The Associated Press – Wednesday 6 Aug, 2008
A Saudi couple buy a wedding dress at a shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008.
The recent spate of marriages involving boys and girls married off to each other by their fathers
or of girls given away to much older men has been widely denounced by Saudi human rights
groups, clerics and writers who say such unions are harmful to the children and trivialize the
institution of marriage. (AP Photo)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — An 11-year-old boy gave out invitations to his classmates for a big event his family was planning this summer — and it wasn’t his birthday party.
It was his wedding to a 10-year-old cousin.
Muhammad al-Rashidi’s marriage was eventually put on hold, his father said, after pressure from the governor of the northern province of Hail, who considered the elementary school student too young to marry.
The case is among a recent spate of marriages involving the very young reported in the media and by Saudi human rights groups. They have been widely denounced by. . .
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