Islam Sanctions Marriage Based on Maturity not Age, YARIMA insists

[Muhsin]

Senator Sani Ahmed Yerima (APC, Zamfara) has denied backing child marriage, asserting that under Islamic law a girl is considered ripe for marriage based on her physical and mental maturity.
The senator gave this explanation in a statement released in Abuja.
The senator representing Zamfara West said insinuations that he supports child marriages were untrue, misleading and the handiwork of mischief-makers.
He said the 1999 Constitution doesn't provide for any specific age when a girl can be married, but stipulates that any girl aspiring to be married must attain a full age.
"What is the criteria for defining maturity or otherwise of a girl? The Nigerian Constitution didn't say 18 years. There is no definition in the Nigerian Constitution. You see in Islamic law, once a girl reaches the age of puberty and she is matured, she is of full age and she is ready for marriage.
"And once she is married, she is of full age. And that is why the constitution recognises Islamic law and made that provision. So if you say you are going to remove that provision, you are going against and counter to Islamic law.
"So under sharia law, any country that practices sharia, age is not a defining factor for marriage,"Senator Yerima said.

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