Saudi marries off 12-year old over mother's objections

A new twist in Saudi child abuse:

A Saudi mother filed a complaint with the Jizan police against her ex-husband for marrying off their 12-year-old daughter without the mother’s knowledge.

The woman who has the custody of her daughter claims that her child is too young to get married and the father did not inform her of his plans to marry the girl.

Maj. Ahmed Al-Wada’ani, official spokesman for Jizan police, told Arab News that after the woman filed the complaint police brought in the girl’s father for questioning.

“The man simply asked his daughter whether she wanted to get married to a certain person or not, and he claims that she completely approved her marriage,” said Al-Wada’ani. However, the case is being transferred to the Shariah court for a decision.

Legal custody clearly is meaningless when it goes up against sharia law that holds women in such high esteem.