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The child brides of Yemen (2014)

Published 8 September 2016 in Blog

In Yemen's poorest areas, more than 40% of marriages involve girls younger than 15. Many suffer sexual violence. Many die from internal bleeding or in childbirth, or attempt suicide.

Child Brides (2014) was made by Pulsemedia and is distributed by Journeyman Pictures.

"It's destiny"

"It's destiny. People marry young girls all the time," says the father of one girl. She was sold into marriage at 12 to settle a debt.

The film describes Yemen as one of the world's most conservative countries, where a strict interpretation of Islam shapes people's lives. Poverty, mass unemployment, a culture that glorifies the beauty of young girls, the lack of a legal framework and, increasingly, marriage tourism from the Gulf all make the work of human rights advocates difficult.

A political issue

In what the film calls Al-Qaeda's last stronghold, child brides are a political issue.

Abdelmalik al-Taji, a professor of Islamic law, argues that this is not a question of compassion or of protecting girls. In his view, a fixed minimum age of marriage "has been proposed by the UN who wish to impose their laws on the whole world". He says that when a girl's body reaches maturity, she is ready for marriage, even at the age of 10.

The cost to girls

A doctor describes the case of a 14-year-old girl who was rushed to hospital on her wedding night. She died of severe bleeding from a vaginal tear.

Another young bride calls her wedding night the biggest shock of her life. She drank rat poison to escape her abusive husband. "I wanted to free myself from it all," she says.

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Source: YouTube