Thank you!

Guest — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:28:26 -0400

I am new to the site, contemplating divorce. I just read this post and realized how much I take my rights for granted. Just having opportunities, choices and the "luxury" to divorce means more to me now. Thanks for the perspective.

Independence Days

Linda Lee — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:07:26 -0400

Two shocking divorces in Yemen have drawn attention to the plight of child brides. The first case involved a 10-year old wife, Nujood Ali, shown, who walked into a courthouse in April and demanded a divorce. In May another girl, 9, ran to a hospital in Jibla, and told the staff her husband had been beating and abusing her.

The 10-year-old girl, Nujood, The New York Times reported over the weekend, is barely 4 feet tall. Her father, a beggar, married her off to a 30 year old man, he said, for her own good. He wanted to protect her, one of his 16 children, from abduction and forced marriage to someone else, as had happened with her two older sisters.

Her father’s argument was that it’s better if I force her to get married than if someone else forces her to get married.

During Nujood’s time with her husband, she said, he beat her and forced himself on her. She took a taxi to the courthouse in Sana, the capital, her first trip ever alone, and once there found both a lawyer and a kindly judge. When she appeared before him in court, he asked her if she wanted a separation from her husband or a permanent divorce. To see what she answered, in front of her father and her husband, go here.

International Planned Parenthood reports that pregnancies are the leading cause of death for girls between 15 and 19 worldwide. Those below the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women over 20. The problem exists in Yemen, where the typical age of marriage for girls is 12 to 14. According to a 2005 Unicef report, 60 percent of girls 15 to 19 in Niger are married. In Mali, 39 percent of girls are married by age 15. In Ethiopia 50 percent of girls are married by age 15.

firstwivesworld - Independence Days - Comments

Thank you!

Independence Days