She has to wait until puberty.
"Lawyer Jtili said he was going to appeal the verdict at the court of cassation, the supreme court in the ultra-conservative kingdom which applies Islamic Sharia law in its courts."
"Ultra-conservative kingdom." As if "conservatives," when they need money, regularly sell their daughters to men seven times their age.
Sharia Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Saudi court rejects divorcing eight-year-old girl," from AFP, December 21 (thanks to JE):
RIYADH (AFP) - A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty, a lawyer involved told AFP."The judge has dismissed the plea (filed by the mother) because she does not have the right to file such a case, and ordered that the plea should be filed by the girl herself when she reaches puberty," lawyer Abdullah Jtili told AFP in a telephone interview after Saturday's court decision.
The divorce plea was filed in August by the girl's divorced mother with a court at Unayzah, 220 kilometres (135 miles) north of Riyadh just after the marriage contract was signed by the father and the groom.
"She doesn't know yet that she has been married," Jtili said then of the girl who was about to begin her fourth year at primary school.
Relatives who did not wish to be named told AFP that the marriage had not yet been consummated, and that the girl continued to live with her mother. They said that the father had set a verbal condition by which the marriage is not consummated for another 10 years, when the girl turns 18.
The father had agreed to marry off his daughter for an advance dowry of 30,000 riyals (8,000 dollars), as he was apparently facing financial problems, they said....
Lawyer Jtili said he was going to appeal the verdict at the court of cassation, the supreme court in the ultra-conservative kingdom which applies Islamic Sharia law in its courts.
Arranged marriages involving pre-adolescents are occasionally reported in the Arabian Peninsula, including in Saudi Arabia where the strict conservative Wahabi version of Sunni Islam holds sway and polygamy is common....
"They said that the father had set a verbal condition by which the marriage is not consummated for another 10 years, when the girl turns 18."
Now what you want to bet the old letch doesn't wait. ; )
"The judge has dismissed the plea (filed by the mother) because she does not have the right to file such a case, and ordered that the plea should be filed by the girl herself when she reaches puberty," lawyer Abdullah Jtili told AFP in a telephone interview after Saturday's court decision.
Child marriage is just a cultural thing, it has nothing to do with Islam.
Of course, the laws of Saudi Arabia are Sharia laws, which are based on the Qur'an.
Off topic, but jdamn told me about this site - http://www.consang.net/index.php/Global_prevalence
I guess this means there's a good chance that the betrothed are also related.
Can you imagine if this story broke anywhere in the western world? Can you imagine the total and absolute media hysteria resulting from this court ruling? Yet this Saudia Arabian story will be largely ignored by the mainstream media. There will be no long discussions about it on shows like Hannity and Colmes, Wolf Blitzer Reports or Countdown. To do so would surely bring up uncomfortable questions like how a government could sanction pedophilia, (where's the precedent?), and why there is no total meltdown from its citizenry concerning this evil situation? Yup, tilt that rock slowly back down, and carefully back away. Put you hands over both ears while chanting "lalalala....
Dinesh?
Here in the US we try to protect our little kids from molesters, in KSA they cut out the "tempting with candy and lost puppies" ruse and just hand their baby girls over to the molesters.
What an evil cult.
Hugh, I've never seen so much being said in such a succinct comment.
"They said that the father had set a verbal condition by which the marriage is not consummated for another 10 years, when the girl turns 18."
They start making progress, even it is only starting to shame.
So, then her first experience will be with a 68 year old. And was she mutilated yet?
Grotesque, but the least of our problems with the Saudis:
http://www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com
These people aren't throwing tens of millions of dollars at the likes of Bill Clinton for nothing. They've got the DC establishment (of both parties) wrapped around their little finger.
As the world economy gets worse and worse we will see more of this happening.
This is the same Saudi Arabia from which, two POTUS/commander-in-chiefs/eafers of free world have taken billions. Bush Jr. has been fed a steady diet of petro-dollars, that paid off when Bush took Saudi Arabia as 'allies' (reaf terrorists as allies) in the war-on-terror (read 'war-on-Saudi-Arabia's-enemy), while Congress watched.
Bush has made it clear early on: What metters in politics are vote and money. Words like 'democracy', 'freedom', 'liberation' are a means to votes or money or both.
No wonder thousands of Americans have died in the phony Iraq war, not to mention billions spent on terrorist countroes likek Pakistan / Saudi Arabia. Ofcourse, neither Condi nr Bush care for Ameircans (after they are fooled out of their votes and tax-dollars).
Then again, Americans can't get enough of the Republicans v/s Democrats fight.
"The judge has dismissed the plea (filed by the mother) because she does not have the right to file such a case, and ordered that the plea should be filed by the girl herself when she reaches puberty"
....................
A mother has no right, by law, to try to protect her *eight-year-old* daughter. That pretty much sums up the whole ugly matter.