'afternoon HunterSdVa29,
i'm not negating anything. i'm merely citing the laws of consent in these states. they are what they are.
in Oklahoma, if one is already pregnant, a girl under sixteen can be married off as long as the parents and courts are ok with it. in Alabama, you could be a sophomore in High School, sixteen, and get married.
i haven't used the word routine at all, Hunter. i'm merely saying its legal.
as to the OP, the idea of having these children being married off isn't something i'm comfortable with. it seems kind of medieval to me...then again, many of the laws and customs regarding how women are regarded in these countries seem bizarre.
i'm kind of with former Republican Chuck Hagel on this issue. when asked about child brides in Saudi Arabia, he said, "We cannot decide for other countries what is appropriate or not".
as to this thread, i find it strange that outside of one poster, no one seems very perturbed that its legal to marry off very young girls in the United States and prefer to focus their wrath on other countries (and weirdly enough, myself - all i'm doing is pointing out the obvious selectivity of their outrage).
- IGIT