Saudis mulls marriage ban for girls under 18

I won't hold my breath for the Saudis to pass such a law. Even if they would I think it'd be superficial and that child marriages will be continued without punishment just like how slavery is practiced. Globe an Mail

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia may ban marriage for girls below 18, a government minister said after a case of an eight-year-old girl marrying a man more than 40 years her senior drew international criticism and embarrassed the kingdom.

“Among the options that are available and excluding the issue of puberty, is to ban marriage for [people] under 18,” Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.[...]

Saudi Arabia is a patriarchal society that applies an ascetic form of Sunni Islam which bans unrelated men and women from mixing and gives fathers the right to wed their sons and daughters to whomever they deem fit.

Many Saudi clerics, including the kingdom's chief cleric Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh, endorse the practice of marrying underage girls, arguing that in doing so they avoid spinsterhood or the temptation of engaging in relationships outside the wedlock.