The Fickle Finger of Fatima
You know how kids are: one minute all they’ll eat is cherry Jello and the next second they HATEHATEittakeitawaycherryJelloisgrossMOM! Yes, they’re fickle little buggers, and there’s not much grownups can do about it but roll their eyes and cope. So naturally, it is with no surprise whatsoever that we announce that the 8-year-old Saudi Arabian girl who got married last month has now been granted a divorce from her 50-year-old husband.
From the Telegraph:
The Saudi Gazette reported that the marriage of the eight-year-old, who has never been named, was annulled in a private out-of-court settlement between the two families in the city of Onaiza.
Most such marriages are arranged by families in return for money. In this case, the father was said to need to pay off a personal debt to the husband, a friend.
The girl herself has been living with her mother, and was never told that she was married, or of the international controversy her case had provoked.
Just wait till she sues for teddy support!
Yes my fellow Americans! Welcome to “Traditional Marriage”!
Sell your girl child to rid yourself of not only debt but the burden of a lowly female.
“Tra-diiii-tion! tradition! tradition!
My mother was offered a substantial sum for me back when she worked in Riyadh; more than Brooke Shields’s mom was offered for her! But I was somewhat discounted because they thought that anyone who was 25 and not married must have something seriously wrong with her.
Also: click on that picture for a very interesting article about child marriages.
Shouldn’t we respect the diverse traditions of other cultures?
Absolutely; my mother asked for a better offer.
RC, my parents worked in Riyadh in the early 90s (just when Saddam started his shenanigans, as a matter of fact). Perhaps our mothers crossed paths. How many camels were you worth?
My mother said camels were all very well, but what if they broke a leg? She negotiated for cash, and that’s more or less when my prospective husband walked away. Too bad; he was a better catch than the men I’ve dated since, so it seems: titled, rich, cultured, a doctor, and under thirty-five.
Dayum! Has it all been a mistake??? Where’s my tardis?
(my mother was in Riyadh between 1984 and 1986 if memory serves. wild times, but safer than when YOUR parents were there. though she did work with a bunch of Americans who wore t-shirts that said “American and Proud” on the front and had big red, white and blue targets printed on the back. they took no crap from anyone)
@class factotum. I will happily respect other cultures when they respect my sex and the rights of my sex. Our rights include: no marriage until adulthood-18 years old or more. no forced marriage. no marriage for financial, political, or social gain. Instead all marriages for love and mental well beaing.
And even though it doesn’t apply to the culture mentioned in this post, no female circumcision.
Jennie, like I said, read the post the picture links to: marriage at 12 is legal in the US.
I read it. I will always disagree with the marriage of children whether it’s in Saudi or South Carolina. And any person or group that approves or allows said marriage is definitely of a different culture than my own.