It’s been reported that an eight-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia is filing for a divorce form a man who is in his 50s, it’s said that the Saudi court is preparing for the hearing.

The eight-year-old girl was married off to the man by her father without the girl’s knowledge, the mother of the child is pleading for the divorce to be annulled, and although the father does not support this saying he has done nothing illegal.

In Yemen another town nearby an arranged marriage was annulled by a court for another 8-year-old girl, her husband was a 28-year-old man.

In Saudi children are given away to men in return for large dowries, this is due to a old custom where a father gives away their infant sons and daughters to cousins this is believed to protect the children from illicit relationships, this was reported by the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan.

Saudi protest groups are fighting to put an end to this practice.

Source: BBC