Public Prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmoud referred two maazouns (marriage registrars) in the Delta province of Gharbiya to a criminal court after evidence emerged that the two men had officiated over the marriages of 364 girls under 18 years old — the legal minimum age for marriage.
Minister of State for Family and Population Moushira Khattab reportedly filed a complaint to the public prosecutor regarding the recent marriage of a female minor in Gharbiya’s Zefta region. The general-prosecutor later investigated the matter only to discover that Sayyed Abdallah el-Aswad, a local maazoun, had officiated over the marriages of 250 underage girls. Another local maazoun, Qamar el-Zaman, was also found to have married off 114 underage girls.
Investigations further revealed that the two ma’zouns had approved marriage contracts involving female minors from provinces throughout the country.
A court hearing on the issue at the Zefta Misdemeanor Court is scheduled to take witnesses’ testimony on 24 October.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
