Manama: The 15-year-old Saudi student who got engaged this week and plans to marry next year has defended the decision saying that early marriages were a tradition in the family.
“There is absolutely nothing strange or peculiar about me getting engaged and hopefully married next year,” Mohammad Khamees Al Hazmi, the ninth grade student, said. “Three of my brothers, my father and my uncles all got married at around this age,” he said.
His bride is about the same age, local news site Sabq reported on Thursday.
The father said that early marriages had numerous benefits.
“It is a tradition that we are keeping so that we can make sure our sons are protected from any sinful temptations,” Khamees said. “There are also numerous advantages to starting a family at a young age. Three of my sons got married while they were students, and I myself started my family when I was still at school,” he said.
The father added that he continued his studies until he graduated from high school.
“Nobody objected to the engagement of Mohammad and the family and friends have been congratulating him on the decision to get married,” Khamees said. “The marriage contractor was surprised when he heard Mohammad’s age and he repeated three times his question about the ages of the groom and bride, but said nothing as the couple and the families were happy to proceed with the formalities,” he said.
According to the father who lives in Arar in the northern part of the Saudi kingdom, the school feted his son and offered him gifts and flowers to celebrate the event.
“It was a wonderful celebration and my son and we as a family were very pleased with their feelings and reactions,” he said. “The school principal called in a family consultant who sat with my son and talked with him about the responsibilities associated with marriage,” he said.
