8-year-old Saudi girl divorces middle-aged husband
30 April 2009 by Stardust
We already know that fundamentalist Islam approves and even encourages child marriage. After all, they point out, it’s written in their holy text. They excuse it as part of their “culture”, their “beliefs” and try to say that the girl has a voice in the matter. But I and human rights activists seriously doubt that. An eight-year-old, no matter what culture is not physically and emotionally ready for marriage and sex. All this is is legalized and religion condoned pedophelia.
8-year-old Saudi girl divorces 50-year-old husband
CAIRO – An 8-year-old Saudi girl has divorced her middle-aged husband after her father forced her to marry him last year in exchange for about $13,000, her lawyer said Thursday.
Saudi Arabia has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for permitting child marriages. The United States, a close ally of the conservative Muslim kingdom, has called child marriage a “clear and unacceptable” violation of human rights.
*snip*
The 8-year-old girl’s marriage was not the only one in the kingdom to receive attention in recent months. Saudi newspapers have highlighted several cases in which young girls were married off to much older men or young boys including a 15-year-old girl whose father, a death-row inmate, married her off to a cell mate.
Here is how the fundamentalist Muslim clergy feels about it:
Saudi Arabia’s conservative Muslim clergy have opposed the drive to end child marriages. In January, the kingdom’s most senior cleric said it was permissible for 10-year-old girls to marry and those who believe they are too young are doing the girls an injustice.
Is it an economic thing? Are we missing something, here or just not getting it because of the culture in which we live where we cherish childhood and do all we can to protect our little ones from child predators and perverts?
30 April 2009, on 10:04 pm
“Are we missing something…?”
No…WE’RE not missing anything…I’m referring to us atheists, of course.
The use of the word “culture”, it seems, masks the real source of the problem; which we all know is, in this case, Islamic religion! Additionally, because of the shared, moronic, god delusion in all the non-Islamic countries, there’s a lot of pussy-footing around the issue in governmental circles; and of course, in the spineless media, as well.
It’s way past time, IMO, to recognize that Religions are nothing more than actually dangerous, made-up, insane delusions; which have had a strangle hold on the majority of human minds for WAY to long.
To put it bluntly…Religions, more than any other human factor, are the MAIN cause of mental illness; which in turn, manifests in all manner of child abuse and human suffering, including the ultimate madness of Wars.
And, as we all know, in this Age of Nuclear weapons; the multiple existence of various bullshit “Apocalyptic” notions…threatens the very existence ot the human race.
This, to me, is another reason why it’s so important for all atheists to be “out of the closet”, entirely; and fully engaged, in whatever way is practical for the individual.
Sites like GifS are ONE way for us to participate in sharing common awareness; and now that the Internet, more and more, provides easy access to both governmental and media feedback access, we atheists have another way to increase public awareness about our concerns.
[I've mentioned before that it might be a good thing to have a handy list of relevant email addresses of common government and various media contacts.]
Tangentially…
and somewhat OT…Something occurred to me, watching Obama’s Press Conference last night; which happened at the very end of his Q&A…his usual ending with the “God Bless America” shtick.
Isn’t it time to start mentioning to him…directly…and perhaps, OFTEN…that, of ALL people; having had an agnostic mother, and an atheist father, and the fact that this IS a Secular Nation…leaving the friggin’ “God” shtick off the end of speeches, might, indeed, make a hell of lot more Rational/Scientific sense…in the 21st Century?
In fact, maybe some of you guys know…is that a common practice in places like the UK, Canada, Denmark, etc…or, is it just in the “US of Jeebus”, where Politicians need to make sure they always kiss-ass to Religious belief?
1 May 2009, on 6:33 am
No, it’s not an economic thing, it’s a power thing, and it’s not unique to Islam. There are plenty of Christians in favour of early marriage – just not quite as early.
Well, Tony Blair had a thing for sermonising, but he wasn’t usually that blatant about it. Overt references to God in matters of politics are generally frowned upon – if someone were to indulge in that sort of thing, the general reaction would liekly be a lot of slightly uncomfortable shuffling and coughing, kinda like if the speaker had just let rip with a particularly loud and fruity fart. It’s just not the sort of thing you do in public.
You’ve got to remember that our Civil War was explicitly about a religious schism. Ever since then, the general feeling has been that religion should be an essentially private matter. Like masturbation.
1 May 2009, on 8:03 am
If the SA clerics wanted to dispel associations of Islam with pedophilia, taking a stand against these child marriages would be the best PR move they could make. Instead…*facepalm*
1 May 2009, on 6:56 pm
50 IS MIDDLE AGE???
1 May 2009, on 7:55 pm
50 IS MIDDLE AGE???
‘fraid so . . .depending on which source you use . . .
According to Collins Dictionary, this is “… usually considered to occur approximately between the ages of 40 and 60″.
The OED gives a similar definition but with a later start point “… the period between youth and old age, about 45 to 60″.
The US Census lists middle age as including both the age categories 35 to 44 and 45 to 54, while Erik Erikson sees it ending a little later and defines middle adulthood as between 40 and 65.
1 May 2009, on 10:54 pm
“Is it an economic thing?”
No–women in Saudi Arabia are considered a burden to be conquered and subdued–the earlier, the better. Like Dunc said, it’s a power thing.
“Are we missing something, here or just not getting it because of the culture in which we live where we cherish childhood and do all we can to protect our little ones from child predators and perverts?”
No, WE are not missing something, they are; namely the influence of the enlightenment.
‘The United States, a close ally of the conservative Muslim kingdom, has called child marriage a “clear and unacceptable” violation of human rights.”
And yet we still consider them an ally. We really need to break our dependence on oil, thereby ending our subsidizing of this deplorable behavior, leaving these barbarians penniless and forcing them to choose between a more enlightened philosophy or remaining in dark-ages squallor.
1 May 2009, on 11:55 pm
“Is it an economic thing?”
Perhaps. I am reading a book on the Donner Party disaster and in it, the author talks about girls as young as 13 getting married off in pioneer America. I know a woman at work whose grandmother married at 15 (and not because she had to). When you’ve got 10 kids in the house, if you can get one married off and off your hands, it lessens the financial burden. Childhood has become an idealized view since Victorian times in Western culture. Before then, children were knitting as young as 4, and doing all kinds of chores as soon as they were able….because the family unit depended on everyone contributing.
But cultures and mores change. We’ve had over 100 years to change our view of childhood (and in some instances, we baby them TOO long!). Muslim culture is not going to change overnight.
4 May 2009, on 11:02 am
It seems to me that few Americans really know much about Saudi Arabia. Relevance to this arises more and more as our country goes further into debt to the faith based ass backwards kingdom. I shudder to think about how much of our country’s assets are owned by these fuckwads. Some folks who label themselves as exceptionally tolerant consider me a xenophobe or worse when I introduce factual information regarding how Saudi A fucking rabia does business. Talk about a class gap, talk about ultraconservatism, talk about a society which is far from free… I dont consider the Saudi government an ally of mine, more so of the Bush family’s and the rest of our country’s corrupt ruling class (albeit far less corrupt than many countries’ ruling classes).
Ive had a T shirt idea floating around in my head, maybe ill find time for it before thursday (imaginary friend day)… Feel free to use the idea yourselves – not like I was gunna do it for profit or anything… MOHAMMED WAS A PEDOPHILE is what im thinking of ironing on… perhaps IF HE EVEN EXISTED on the back. As the idea is soley for educational pruposes with the unfortunate side effect of offending some muslims (gawd forbid), I could also print GO OFFEND YOURSELF to turn the fingers back around.
4 May 2009, on 11:26 am
Kids did a lot of chores in victorian times, and many continue to do so to this very day. The trendy pointing of the finger at “western culture” for worldy atrocities (Pedophillia is an atrocity) exhibited by Boudica is not fact based and thus misleading. In our culture, as in many Native American cultures, children are given more freedom – more intellectual freedom. Please try and explain to me how this is babying them and worse than controlling their minds at every step and forcing or enticing them to marry in pre adolecsence. Know what does change virtually overnight? A young woman’s body! You site a source which talks about 13 year olds – a whole different ballgame than 8 or even 10 year olds. Each and every year – hell each and every week – means a lot more to an adolescent’s maturity level than it does to one in “middle age”. Muslim “culture” has had even more time to evolve than ours has in the states since pioneer days. Sex and marriage are not to be chores. The only economic aspect I see to all of this is – There exists a wealthy monarchy who spreads out very little of their oil money and maintains a “culture” that encourages long term prostitution and/ or sex slavery.
The mideastern desert is an unhappy place, if only they didnt wield such power from their control of the oil industry. I wonder if the Saudis will care about the caribou and offshore ecosystems if/ when they gain control of our oil industry as well. Should we expect much from the part of the world who was abducting africans to use as soldiers and sex slaves centuries before “the west” took them for agricultural labor? Dont get me wrong I am not justifying american slavery – we should take care not to justify the Pedophillia which is worshipped in saudi a fucking rabia. I am skeptical of misinformation campaigns that point fingers at “western culture” – the culture which those born in islamic cultures but have the thoughtfulness and means to escape commonly chose as their destination.
4 May 2009, on 11:37 am
Forgive me if it seemed like I was personally attacking the poster Boudica and excessively picking apart her/ his post. Its just that saying something isnt going to change overnight probably isnt going to speed its change. Muslim culture has gone through more than a few fortnights without getting up to speed much less leading the way for free societies. Also, I’m not sure what in the fuck knitting has to do with Pedophillia.
Thanks everyone for the thought provoking (sp?) and entertaining posts and comments, I’ll be argueing with my imaginary friend for you all!
4 May 2009, on 3:10 pm
Sex and marriage are not to be chores.
Exactly. In the news today it seems that the pressure from other countries being put on Saudi Arabia is having a positive effect:
Saudi Arabia mulls marriage ban for girls under 18