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Married and divorced at ten: a Yemeni girl's case (2009)

Published 29 June 2016 in Blog

Is child marriage on its way out in Yemen, or will conservative religious pressure keep it legal? This 2009 report looks at the case of a girl who, at ten years old, has already been married and divorced.

A case that sparked a national debate

In Yemen, a quarter of women marry before they are fifteen. This girl's case has sparked a nationwide debate about child marriage.

"He would ask me to bring him something and if it wasn't there, he would beat me," she recalls. Her husband had offered a generous dowry, but before long he became violent and abusive. Encouraged by her father, she ran away.

"We cannot find a good balance between the husband and the girl. It is not marriage, it is only rape!" says her lawyer. The lawyer campaigned successfully for a new law that makes seventeen the minimum age of marriage.

Opposition to change

Before her divorce, child brides had no protection. The country's influential religious conservatives oppose change. One view heard in the film: "Islam determines the age of marriage to be when the girl is ready for intercourse, not a specific age."

Until the President ratifies the new law, it could still be reversed. Many girls in Yemen could then suffer the same fate.

Related films

• The Heartbreaking Truth About Yemen's Child Brides
• Why Yemen Won't Ban Child Marriage and Rape:

• Meet the Women Fighting Against Rampant Misogyny in Afghanistan:

Source: YouTube