As reported by the Associated Press, the 2008 marriage between an 8 year-old Saudi girl and her 50 year-old husband can now end in divorce.
Critics argue that child marriages are a violation of human rights, regardless of whether the child involved agrees to the union. On this latter point, rights groups within Saudi Arabia allege that marriage officials routinely fail to ensure bridal consent – which is required by law – and so even many seemingly “legal” child marriages may not be authorized in the first place.
This much, at least, is clear: this marriage and its 42-year age gap may be (essentially) over, but the next level of debate on the issue of child marriage in Saudi Arabia is just getting started.
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