Yemen: end child marriage
Yemen should protect its girls from the devastating effects of early marriage by setting 18 as the minimum age of marriage by law. This short documentary by Human Rights Watch makes that case.
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This version has Farsi subtitles by Zanan TV.
A girl married at 12
A Yemeni girl was forced to marry at the age of 12. Still a child, she describes what happened: "One day I came home from school and my father said I was going to be married. When I told him I did not want to marry, he threatened to beat me black and blue."
Her grandmother explains: "She is still a child. She plays house with the other children. She wanted to study, but her father married her off without her consent."
A widespread practice
Belkis Wille, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, says child marriage is very common in Yemen. More than half of girls marry before the age of 18. In tribal areas, even eight-year-old girls are married.
She adds that people now talk about child marriage, and criticise it, more often and more openly. This criticism is no longer limited to the capital and the big cities. It is slowly reaching tribal areas too, where the problem is far more serious.
A unique opportunity
The current political transition and the drafting of a new constitution offer the Yemeni government a unique opportunity. It can now pass laws that protect the rights of girls.