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Africa Subsaharan | |||
Nigeria court rejects 'forced marriage' case | |||
2010-10-25 | |||
[BBC] A Nigerian high court has dismissed a case brought by a 26-year-old woman who says her father forced her to marry a senator. The judge said her human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... had not been violated and it was a matrimonial matter for an Islamic court. Zainab Isa Mayana was married to the senator of Zamfara State, Sahabi Ya'u, 54, in July at a ceremony where she was represented by her father. She says she has never met him and her father knew she was already engaged. Sokoto, where the trial took place, was one of several northern states to re-introduce Sharia law after the return to democracy in 1999. 'Courageous' The BBC's Haruna Shehu Tangaza in Sokoto says that these days forced marriages are frowned on in the predominately Mohammedan north of Nigeria.
Ms Mayana was not in court for the ruling,
They said they would file a new case at "an appropriate court", which by implication would be an Islamic court, our news hound says. Ms Mayana, who is studying at Ahmadu Bello University, says she has been engaged to another man for five years. Senator Ya'u was already married before his wedding to Ms Mayana in July, although it is not known exactly how many wives he has, our correspondent says. | |||
Posted by:Fred |
#1 "where she was represented by her father" hmmm she should make the case that it was her father who got married |
Posted by: European Conservative 2010-10-25 00:55 |