The ministry of justice in Saudi
Arabia has prohibited marriage of persons under 18 years — while setting 18
years as the minimum age for marriage.
According to Saudi Gazette, Walid
bin Mohammed Al-Samaani, minister of justice and chairman of the supreme
judicial council (SJC), on Tuesday, issued a directive to all courts and
marriage officials instructing them that no marriage should be carried out
involving those under the age of 18.
Contained in the circular issued
by the minister is that marriage requests should henceforth be directed to
specialised courts where the necessary arrangements would be done.
“All such requests are to be
referred to the specialised court to complete the formalities in line with the
Child Protection Law and while implementing the established regulations,” the
newspaper quoted Al-Samaani’s directive as saying.
The directive is to ensure
conformity with paragraph (16/3) of the executive regulations of the Child
Protection Law, which stipulates that “before conducting marriage contracts one
has to make sure that marrying a person under the age of 18 will not harm him
or her and achieve their best interests, male or female.”
The circular also stated that
matchmakers found violating the rules will also be held accountable and would
be referred to the ministry for necessary legal action.
This marks an historic end to
child marriages which are prevalent in Saudi Arabia, until the recent directive
seeking to change the status quo.
The minister’s directive is also
watershed in the country’s push to end under-marriage, after several
efforts in the past have either
witnessed partial compliance or failed.
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