A man, 70, marries a 15-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia, media sources revealed on Tuesday. What's even more shocking about this story is that the 70-year-old man says he bought the child from her parents for nearly $20,000, according to CNN.
The marriage was made public when the elderly man expressed his outrage to officials alleging he had been ripped off by the girl's family because they took her back. Human rights workers are now investigating this bizarre case because they believe the girl escaped from the man because of a domestic fight.
Members of the Human Rights Commission in Saudi, said they are willing to help the child with legal help if a marriage dispute was to occur in court. Not surprisingly, this case of a man, 70, marrying a 15-year-old has caused many to rise up in opposition. They have expressed their feelings via Twitter with posts saying,
Prominent Yemeni activist NoonArabia tweeted, "#ChildMarriage is a violation of human rights ... #RunAwayBride #PTs."
Kareem Bassem tweeted, "#ChildMarriage is a result of dehumanizing female humans and degrading them to 'treats' in alleged paradise. Fight dehumanization!"
Dr. Suhaila Zein al-Abedin says, "When you consider the very large difference in age, it looks more like this was not a marriage, but like the girl was sold," al-Abedin said. "The girl's parents need to be held responsible for this."
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