Amid continuing debate about under-age marriage in Saudi Arabia, Arab News reports the story of a marriage official (mazoun) with a 12-year-old wife:

"When my mother insisted I consummate my marriage, I had to summon up the courage for two weeks before I was able to have sex with her," he said. He said when he first saw her, he was shocked by her fragility and added that he spent a long time trying to understand how to treat her. 

"We used to be together without any sexual contact. She slept in the bedroom while I slept in the guest room. All the time I used to tell her the story of Adam and Eve. She often said to me that she did not know why her parents gave her away to me," he said.

The mazoun said his young wife has completed her sixth grade at elementary school and is now a better housewife than many university graduates.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 9 October 2010.