70-year-old marries 17-year-old girl

A Saudi man in his 70s married a 17-year-old local girl although he already has two wives and the conservative Gulf Kingdom is locked in a drive to curb child marriages.

The man paid SR25,000 (Dh25,000) dowry to the bride’s family in the western town of Taif in line with Islamic law requiring grooms to pay for their bride’s relatives.

“I performed the marriage which was witnessed by the bride’s parents and brothers,” Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Kanani said, quoted by Sabq newspaper.

Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, has been locked in a campaign to stem child marriages following local and international furor about such practices in the Gulf Kingdom. Officials last year spoke of a plan to enact laws to curb child marriages.

 

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