Middle East Focus: Child-Brides vs. Dirty Old Shaikhs of Yemen…......
Child-Brides vs. Dirty Old Shaikhs of Yemen…......
“Some of Yemen's most influential Islamic leaders, including one the U.S. says mentored Osama bin Laden, have declared supporters of a ban on child brides to be apostates. The religious decree, issued Sunday, deeply imperils efforts to salvage legislation that would make it illegal for those under the age of 17 to marry. The practice is widespread in Yemen and has been particularly hard to discourage in part because of the country's gripping poverty — bride-prices in the hundreds of dollars are especially difficult for poor families to pass up…….. The group behind the declaration also includes Yemen's most influential cleric, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the United States has branded a spiritual mentor of bin Laden. Al-Zindani denies being a member of al-Qaida. In a further challenge to the rights groups pushing for a ban, government officials are reluctant to challenge al-Zindani and other conservative tribal and religious figures whose support they need to hold onto power in the fragile nation………” Cheers
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