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Yemeni child bride wants a divorce
by Scott Gilbreath ~ November 6th, 2008
A nine-year-old girl in Yemen named Arwa has gone to court asking for a divorce, claiming she was forced to marry against her will. Two other Yemeni child brides are also seeking legal divorces.
The nine year old child lives with her parents and six brothers and sisters in a humble, two-roomed house overlooking the mosque built by her namesake, Queen Arwa, who ruled Yemen 900 years ago.
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Arwa is the youngest of three Yemeni girls who recently went to court complaining they were married against their will and asking for divorce – an astonishing display of defiance that has prompted the government to review its law on early marriage.
Her father gave her in marriage to an older stranger because the family needed the bride payment.
A prominent politician appeals to the example of Mohammed and argues that marrying at a young age cannot not forbidden.
Sheikh Hamoud Hashim al-Tharihi is general secretary of the increasingly influential Vice and Virtue Committee and a member of the Islah Party. He cites the example of the Prophet Muhammad who married six-year-old Aisha but waited for consummation till she was a little older.
“Because this happened to the Prophet, we cannot tell people that it is prohibited to marry at an early age,” he argues. Moreover, he claims it would harm society by spreading vice.
Yemeni MPs are debating raising the marriage age to 18, but the effort has been stalled by staunch resistance from hardliners. Even if passed, the measure may not make any difference, for the present minimum age of 15 is frequently ignored.
h/t: Europe News
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November 7th, 2008 at 07:10 PM
[...] CRY-BABY Yemeni child bride wants a divorce. Wants to go back to Grade 4 …. [...]