Youngest Marriage in Saudi Arabia

They are 11 and 12 years old, are cousins and were married in Saudi Arabia.

The local press has described the couple as the most precocious of the world.

They are 12 and 11 years old, and are cousins. From this week, moreover, are husband and wife. Saudi Arabia has been the scene of this couple, bolstered by the local press as the most precocious of the world.

The ceremony was held in the city of Gizan, near the border with Yemen, as confirmed today by the Saudi daily Al Riyadh.

The newspaper added that "many relatives and friends attended the ceremony earlier this week."

In conservative Saudi Arabia the minimum age for marriage is set at 15 years, as prescribed by the Sharia, or Islamic law.

The rule has not been respected in this case and could result in sanctions by the Government.

Either way, early marriages are common in the Saudi kingdom, which begins producing other consequences, such as the increase in marital breakdown.

The researcher Nura al Shamlan, cited by the newspaper, says that in the last twenty years, the divorce rate in the country has increased by 60 percent, and this relates to the youth of much of the intending spouses.