Qatari author slams women’s conference against child marriage as “a Jewish plot”
An initiative by a Gaza women’s organisation to hold a conference to discuss the banning of child marriage has been branded as “a Jewish plot to destroy Gaza society”.
Abd Al-Aziz Al-Ansari, a Qatari author who writes about social issues, reportedly described the plan for a conference as “a satanic demand”, according to MEMRI.
He made his comments in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on 28th August after the independent Gaza women’s organisation AISHA called for a conference on the issue of child marriage.
In his video, Mr Al-Ansari urges his listeners to “marry off” their daughters at “the correct age,” which he states is “twelve or thirteen” because “delaying marriage increases depravity, homosexuality, lesbianism, prostitution and sodomy.”
He praises Yemeni society, where, he says, “they still marry their daughters off at the correct age. Early marriage is a tradition with them.”
He then mocks Western efforts to curb this practice, saying: “This has made the US Congress upset. They are losing sleep over this.”
Addressing the people of Gaza directly, Al-Ansari said: “The Jews failed to destroy you, kill you, disgrace you…They want to destroy you socially, by increasing your depravity.”
He then sought to undermine the credibility of the Islamic women’s organisation by associating it with Jews, claiming: “This is not the ‘AISHA association’, this is the ‘Golda Meir association.’…This is a satanic association that demands to delay the age of marriage. It demands to change the law of Allah upon the land. This is a message to our people in Gaza. Beware! Beware! Marry your daughters off at the age of 12…Marry them off! Don’t let the [Jews] fool you.”
According to its website, AISHA was established in 2009 and “works to achieve gender equality and integration through economic empowerment and psycho-social support.” Its website also declares that it “aspires to play a leading role in “protecting women and children.”
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Image credit: MEMRI
