A Saudi Arabian girl, 8, married to a 47 year old man by her father to clear off this debt was finally granted divorce. The plea for the divorce was rejected twice by the court in Saudi Arabia.

It was reported that the girl was not even aware of her marriage to this man, who was her father’s friend. The marriage was not annulled twice when the mother went to the court. The court ruled that since the girl’s mother was separated from her father, she did not have a legal right to the child and could not be presented in the court as her legal guardian. The judge made the husband sign a pledge stating he would abstain from sexual intercourse with the child till her puberty.

The Arabian justice minister has plan to chalk out a law that will protect young girls from abuse and child marriage. After the divorce was annulled twice, the case invited lot of controversy and attention from all over the world. The United Nations Children’s Fund also expressed concern and condemned child marriage.

However, the grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh has been of the shocking view that it would be unfair to the young girls if they deny child marriage. Also, he added that girls at the age of 10 or 12 can be married.