JEDDAH, 5 December 2007 — Authorities in Makkah are investigating the case of a 19-year-old girl who left her home yesterday and climbed into a taxi with her feet in chains.

The driver of the taxi reported the girl to police after noticing the chains.

On questioning, the girl told the police that she was heading to meet her boyfriend, who had proposed to marry her but had been refused by her family.

The case has been transferred to the General Prosecution and Investigation Committee.

Makkah Police spokesman Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Mayman said that the Community Protection Office has been notified. “Parents should be more cautious about the safety of their children’s mental and physical health,” he added.

Abdullah Al-Morai, a lecturer at the Um Al-Qura University in Makkah, said that chaining one’s children in such a demeaning way is against the teachings of Islam. He described it as an act of “ignorance.”