Saudi Clerics Denounce Forcing Women to Marry
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Clerics took a stand Tuesday against forcing women into marriage, saying that fathers who try to force their daughters to marry should be jailed until they change their minds.
The kingdom’s mufti, Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al Sheik, who has a ministerial rank, issued a statement saying the board of top clerics had ruled that coercing women into marriage was “a major injustice” and “un-Islamic.”
“Fathers who insist on making their daughters marry those they do not desire should be punished by imprisonment, and should not be released until they change their minds,” Sheik said.
According to Saudi newspapers, about half of all marriages end in divorce, and many believe that the high number of forced marriages is to blame.
The status of and restrictions on Saudi women have long drawn criticism. They cannot drive a car, mix with men in public or leave home without covering themselves head to toe.
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