Jeddah, May 09: The Saudi ministry of justice has established a new marriage rule that would require recording the age of the bride.
A newspaper reported that new forms are being distributed to licensed marriage officials across the kingdom that ask for the date of birth of the bride.
The new rule comes at a time when the kingdom is considering establishing a minimum age of marriage follow a series of highly publicized incidences where old men have married young girls.
The National Society of Human Rights (NSHR) described thye move as a positive gesture towards establishing a minimum age for marriage of young women.
Mufleh Al Qahtani, head of the National Society of Human Rights, said the issue of marriage of young girls has become a matter of serious concern on the part of several agencies. Some of these marriages have ended up in courts.
-Agencies