Saudi Girl, 8, Can't Divorce Husband, 58: Court

Child marriages will be 'regulated'; no evidence they'll be barred

(NEWSER) - Amid an uproar over an adult man’s marriage to an 8-year-old girl, Saudi Arabia will begin regulating child marriage, the BBC reports. The country’s justice minister wants to end the “arbitrary” process, he said, though he didn’t say such matches would be banned. A court upheld the marriage provided the husband—whose age has been reported as 47 and 60—doesn’t have sex with the girl until after she reaches puberty. More»

(NEWSER) - This was probably inevitable: The world's first known divorce via phone text is on the books. A Saudi man informed his wife of the split by text, then called two relatives to let them know, the Telegraph reports. This apparently jibes with the practice under Sharia law that allows a man to divorce simply by saying, "I divorce you," three times. A court checked with the two relatives and approved the split. More»

Seeks to remedy apparently soaring divorce rate

(NEWSER) - Nigeria's Kano state is worried: The number of divorces appears to be skyrocketing. And a divorced woman there faces a raft of problems—she may be shunned, in some cases forced to beg or prostitute herself to support her family. So the state government is taking the matter into its own hands: It's working to find husbands for 1,000 divorcees and widows, the Los Angeles Times reports. Some 2,000 men have applied for the program, which covers wedding expenses and provides a way around negotiating with future in-laws. More»

But let's not rush into things: Wait til 2015, says King Abdullah

(NEWSER) - Good news for the ladies of Saudi Arabia: You can vote and even run for office, Saudi King Abdullah said today in an announcement that many are hailing as major progress for women's rights. Of course, there's a caveat: Abdullah's announcement won't take effect until after this Thursday's elections, so women won't get to take their shiny new rights for a spin until the next elections in 2015, notes the BBC . Still, "women's voices will be heard finally," one advocate tells CNN . More»

She's the first to sign sweeping conservative 'Marriage Vow'

(NEWSER) - Michele Bachmann became the first GOP presidential hopeful to sign an extremely socially conservative pledge that might sorta call for a ban on porn. The pledge, which is being put forth by an Iowa-based group called The Family Leader, is ostensibly primarily about marriage; it’s called “The Marriage Vow—a Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family.” But some, like ThinkProgress , have been criticizing it for also including a clause condemning porn. More»