Top Saudi religious official bans forced marriages News
Top Saudi religious official bans forced marriages

[JURIST] The top religious official in Saudi Arabia [JURIST news archive] has banned the practice of allowing parents to force women to marry. Sheik Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik said in a statement that coercion to marry was "un-Islamic," and that fathers who forced their daughters to marry would be imprisoned. The divorce rate in Saudi Arabia is 50 percent, and forced marriages are believed to be one of the main causes. The new directive is a major step for women's rights in the traditionally restrictive country. Women are not allowed to drive or vote and must cover themselves when in public. CBC News has more.