The Young and the Fastest, Saudi Arabian Style

Young: "NAJRAN, 22 July 2005 — Hundreds in Najran witnessed a marriage ceremony of the youngest couple in the Kingdom, the Okaz newspaper reported. A marriage ceremony between a 13-year-old groom and a 10-year-old bride was solemnized in front of the couple’s relatives. The groom is studying first year in middle school. He married his cousin, who is studying in fifth grade. The groom called on all his friends at school to get married at the earliest."

Fastest: "The young man, wracked with doubt whether his proposal would be accepted by the would-be bride’s family, screwed up his courage and proposed. He was pleasantly surprised when the family accepted his proposal and asked him to marry her on the same day. Not one to let an opportunity slip away, the youth went to the hospital for the medical certificate and as he made his way home withdrew the SR3,000 dowry money. The whole process from the moment he proposed and to the couple’s honeymoon took 3 hours."