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The parents of a 13-year-old girl demand the Kenyan authorities return her to her 23-year-old husband, a newspaper reports
NAIROBI (TrustLaw) – The parents of a 13-year-old girl demanded that Kenyan authorities return her to her 23-year-old husband, the Daily Nation reports.
The child’s parents were quoted as saying there was nothing wrong with the marriage held last week as Islam allows girls to marry at the age of nine.
“Even if she were a minor, our religion allowed her to marry,” Bora Famau, the girl’s father said.
The girl’s mother said she married at the age of nine, according to the report, which came from the coastal town of Malindi.
The Kenyan government plans to transfer the girl to a children’s home while her ‘husband’ is held in police custody.
Child marriage is common in Kenya, with 25 percent of girls married before the age of 18, according to government statistics. On the coast, this rises to 34 percent.
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