Saudi Arabia has become yet another country that has banned early marriages after years of debate. The minimum legal age for marriage is now 18, the Saudi newspaper Saudi Gazette reported, quoted by RIA Novosti.

Justice Minister Walid Al-Samani has already sent a new law to all local courts.

According to UNICEF, 39,000 children marry daily in the world.

If a teenager under the age of 18 wants to get married, special courts will give permission. They will decide whether an early marriage will adversely affect the young groom or bride and his future.

Previously, in Saudi Arabia, the law did not specify a minimum age for marriage, which is why the issue of marrying very young girls became very relevant. In 2017, several representatives of the Saudi Parliament Majlis al-Shura (Advisory Board) sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice requesting that girls under the age of 15 should be forbidden to marry.

According to the World Economic Forum, 117 countries around the world allow children to marry in certain circumstances or have no statutory minimum age.