The Egyptian authorities have banned a 92-year-old man from marrying a 17-year-old girl, the Egyptian al-Akhbar newspaper has reported.
The ministry of justice invoked a law which says the age gap between spouses should not exceed 25 years.
Egypt brought in the law prohibiting the marriage of elderly men to very young girls during the Gulf oil boom.
It was an effort to prevent wealthy men from the Gulf states seeking young poor brides from the Egyptian countryside.
Not much is known about the 92-year-old man who tried to marry an Egyptian girl of 17 except that he is an Arab from the Gulf.
An Egyptian justice official said by refusing to endorse their marriage it would now be impossible for the girl to travel abroad with her husband.
However, in special cases, the justice ministry does allow foreign men to marry Egyptian women more than 25 years their junior if they deposit a very large sum of money in the name of their wife at the Egyptian National Bank.
Both husband and wife also have to report in person to the ministry which checks their marriage is genuine to prevent any kind of trafficking in women.
According to the al-Akhbar newspaper, 173 such marriages were allowed in the past year after the foreign husband deposited a sum equivalent to about US $8,000 and was screened.
Source: BBC News, Frances HarrisonOpinion: Egypt bans 92-year-old' s marriage
Marriage is a very sacred and powerful thing between any man and women. It is the real fusion of a husband and wife who starts their new life and journey. As for the marriage of a 92-year-old and a 17-year-old, it was unethical for the Egyptians based on their marriage law that states regarding the span of 25 age gap of marriage.
As successors of eve, we are aware of our rights and desires as a woman and we are cautious of the age gaps in a relationship of a couple. We believe that the laws of marriage were made to safeguard and protect the rights of both men and women. Men who marry such young girls, at such an elderly age, are not thinking of the women they take in marriage, they are not protecting the rights of women and they are trying to twist the laws just to satisfy their welfare.
There are relationships that has a very long age gap in which they believe love means no boundaries, but as a conservative girl, it is our right to choose a male partner whom can do the duty as a husband and fulfill the any young girl's desires. He may die early in their marriage and left his wife a widow at a young age in which they will have a very short journey as a couple. If it is in the case that the old man is wealthy and the girl is poor, in most people's eye is that the old man takes advantage of the girls status and therefore is corrupting minors.
We take marriages not for our convenience but for the thought of our future. An important thing to ponder regarding marriage aside from loving each other is that they should consider their ages for the sake of their good and harmonious relationship. We must think rationally on the guidelines of a marriage or their expectations regarding it so that they can have a more time to know each other physically, emotionally, spiritually and intimately.
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