Al-Riyadh newspaper reports (in Arabic) on the case of a 65-year-old man in Saudi Arabia who went for a health screening test in preparation for his marriage to an 11-year-old girl. The man was found to be infected with hepatitis B.

The Saudi Jeans blog comments:

"The staff at the hospital were shocked not only by the shamelessness of the man but also of the eagerness of the girl’s parents to finish up the paperwork so they can go ahead with the wedding. So they are knowingly subjecting their daughter to not only a paedophile but also a disease ...

"Marriage licences are granted to hepatitis sufferers only after the healthy partner is aware and agrees but how can you expect adult consent and awareness from an 11-year-old?"

Child marriage is an increasingly controversial issue in Saudi Arabia and also in Yemen, where a 12-year-old bride bled to death earlier this month as a result of violent sexual intercourse.

Saudi law requires pre-marital testing for sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia, hepatitis B and C, and HIV, though it appears to be ignored by some couples and marriage registrars.

In February, Health Affairs Department in Taif called for the criminalisation of marriages in which premarital medical checks are not carried out. An adviser at the royal court also called for registrars to be punished if they ignore premarital checkups.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 14 April 2010.