Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — The Islamic Affairs Committee of the Shoura Council has turned down a recommendation presented by five members to prevent underage marriages saying the issue was before the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars, which was expected to issue a decision on the matter very soon.

Shoura members Issa Al-Ghaith, Moda Al-Khalaf, Latifa Al-Shaalan, Noura Al-Masaad and Faoziyah Aba Al-Khail tabled the recommendation for voting in the council.

The members said they would not be deterred by the rejection of the committee and were determined to present the proposal again before the council in one of its coming sessions.

Khalaf said the proposal to organize marriages of underage girls was presented to the council as a recommendation, not as a draft resolution, because there is no personal affairs law in the Kingdom.

"The committee's rejection was a denial to the council's role as a consultative body, which raises its recommendations to the King," she said.

Khalaf said the fact that the issue has a religious dimension does not hinder its discussion in the council. "Marriage is not purely a matter of faith or worship. It is an important matter of daily life, the rules of which are constantly changing," she added.

She said the law for organizing underage marriages is not purely a religious issue to be referred to a fatwa issuing body such as the Council of Senior Scholars.

"The issue is similar to preventing marriages before a medical examination to prove the suitability of couples to tie the knot," she said.

Khalaf said a number of Arab and Islamic countries have laws preventing the documentation of the marriage contracts before the girls reach 18 years of age and called for similar laws in the Kingdom.

The presenters of the recommendation asked the Justice Ministry not to document marriages of girls who are not yet 18 years except under certain conditions, including the consent of the girl and her mother, a medical report proving that the girl is medically, physically, psychologically and socially fit for the marriage, the age of the man to marry her should not be more than double her age and that the marriage contract should be signed before a judge.

They warned that underage marriage would have adverse effects on the girls and would lead to miscarriages, caesarian operations and premature births.

They also warned that young girls could develop psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, social phobia, lack of sleep and hallucinations as a result of early marriage.

They also said the marriage of minor girls is a violation of international agreements the Kingdom had signed for the protection of children's rights and prevention of discrimination against women.