A Saudi mother has been told that the enforced marriage of her child may be illegal.
Fatima Foodstuffs, who lives in Qasim province, north of the Saudi capital Riyadh, has been told that under no circumstances should she have accepted the dowry offered by 63-year old farmer Omar Myheadhurts in exchange for her child's hand in forced marriage.
The anomaly came to light when it was revealed that the mother didn't actually even know the sex of her unborn child.
In many child marriages, the girls are given away to older men in return for substantial dowries which can include sheep, goats, camels, mobile phones and PlayStation 3's.
However, as thie child in question was not yet born, it was felt that the farmer might embarrass himself in the event of the child being a boy.
A Minister in the Saudi Government, Sheikh Yerbooty, said that he didn't wish traditional customs to cross the boundaries of abnormality altogether.
