Saudi judge allows marriage for girl, 8

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A Saudi Arabian judge has allowed the arranged marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man to proceed, a lawyer in the case told CNN.

The marriage was arranged between the girl's father and the man to settle the father's debts and was approved Saturday by a judge, Sheik Habib Abdallah Habib, who dismissed a challenge by the girl's mother, the U.S. broadcaster reported Wednesday.

The mother, who is separated from the 8-year-old's father, was stymied in her efforts to stop the deal because she "is not the legal guardian of the girl," the woman's lawyer, Abdullah Jutaili, told CNN.

The judge, however, prohibited the groom from consummating his marriage until the girl reached puberty. At that time, she can sue for divorce from the man, Jutaili said.

Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the Human Rights Commission, a Saudi government-run human rights group, told CNN his group is fighting against child marriages, saying, "Child marriages violate international agreements that have been signed by Saudi Arabia and should not be allowed."