Ö¸{Ân¿ ½Z¯{¯kYÁ{YÄ̸ÃZ^» ¾¼Ë{ Nujood Ali The Fight Against Child Marriage in Yemen Vision and Motivation ÃÌ´¿YÁÀÌ] In February 2008, Nujood Ali, just 10 years old, was married to a man three times įֻZ´ÀÅ,µZÄ˧{Ö¸{Ân¿ her age so that her family could escape ¾]Y]ÄÕ{»kYÁ{YÄ],dY{µZÃ{¬§ the economic burden of raising children. 1 cÔ°» Z] Ë Y YÃ{Y¿Zy Ze |»M{ {Ây Nujood’s case was not uncommon in ,{Ây ½Z¯{¯ ½{¯ ±] Y ÖZ¿ Õ{Zf«Y Yemen; in fact, most Yemeni girls marry µÂ¼ »Ì£ ¾¼Ë { {Ân¿ {» |]ZË ÖÔy older men before the age of 18. Nujood, Y ¶^« ÖÀ¼Ë ½Yfy{ j¯Y «YÁ { -dÌ¿ who had no desire to be married, was |ÀÀ¯Ö»kYÁ{Y{ÂyYe±]Ö¿Y{»Z]Ö´·Z continually raped and beaten by her 30- year old husband from the onset of their Z£MY,dY|¿kYÁ{YÄ]Ö¸ËZ¼epÌÅį{Ân¿ marriage. Almost two months after their YÄ·Z Ö Å Âe ¹Y|»  Ä] kYÁ{Y wedding, Nujood escaped her husband’s d§³Y«ºfÁ[ÁÖÀmÁZne{» home and took a taxi to a courthouse dz˳ Å ĿZy Y ÃZ» Á{ Y a {Ân¿ LQ 6DQD¶D ZKHUH VKH KRSHG WR ¿OH IRU Z À { ÖÅZ³{Y{ Ä] Y {Ây Ö¯Ze ®Ë Z] Á divorce. After waiting nearly all day at the a |À¯©ÔdYÂy{dYÂyÖ»ÁY |¿Z FRXUWKRXVHDFRPSDVVLRQDWHMXGJH¿QDOO\ ,ºuµ{ÖZ«®Ë,ÃZ³{Y{{Ö¿ÓÂZf¿YY ½Z¿©Â¬u ZÅÄ]ne www.tavaana.org heard Nujood’s story and took her home Ä¿ZyÄ]Äf¨ÅyMÕY]YÁYÁ|ÌÀY{Ân¿½ZfY{ to his family for the weekend; he also had {Y{Âf{¾ÌÀr¼ÅÁY-{]YÃ{Y¿ZyÌa{Ây both Nujood’s father and husband arrested. Nujood was then assigned to human rights a |¿ÂdY{Z]Á{Å,{Ân¿ÅÂÁ|a lawyer Shada Nasser as her counsel, who Ä],]©Â¬u¶Ì¯Á,Z¿Y{ZÄ]{Ân¿½MY successfully made her case in a court {YÁYÃ|¿ÁaZ¿ |Ö§ »ÕÁÁZ»½YÂÀ that granted Nujood a divorce from her ©ÔË~aÄ]į{¯s»d̬§Â»Z]ÃZ³{Y{ husband. |nÀ»ÃZ³{Y{ÕÂYÅÂYÕÁ Once Nujood’s story had been picked ÕZÅÄ¿Z { {Ân¿ ½ZfY{ Ä°¿M Y a up by international media outlets, it ½Z¯{¯ kYÁ{Y » ,| s» Ö¸¸¼·Y¾Ì] UDLVHGWKHSUR¿OHRIRQHRI<HPHQ¶VPRVW troubling, socially-embedded customs: ¾ËeZaË{ Á ¾ËeZ{{ Y Ö°Ë ½YÂÀ Ä] child brides. While several organizations d§³ Y« ÄmÂe {» ,¾¼Ë ÕZÅdÀ exist in Yemen to combat child marriage, kYÁ{YZ]ÃZ^»Ä]¾¼Ë{ÕZ¼Ö]ÕZŽZ»Z Nujood’s case sparked an overarching ½YÂyY§²¿,{Ân¿{»Z»Y|¿Y{aÖ»½Z¯{¯ call to action from both the Yemeni and {ÁM{Y|Ä]Y¾¼ËÄ »ZmÁ¶¸¼·Y¾Ì]Ä »Zm international communities. Goals and Objectives |Z¬»Á¥Y|ÅY While Nujood was focused on escaping kYÁ{Y Y ˳ ] į Ö·Zu { {Ân¿ her abusive marriage, she was also eager į {Â] ©Zf» ,dY{ ¯¼e {Ây ÁMÄnÀ° to return to her younger sister in order to ]Y]{ÁYYZe{Á]{Âye®q¯ÅYÂy¡Y protect her from the same fate. Nujood says, “I did it so that people would listen |˳ֻ {Ân¿ |À¯ d§Zv» d¿ ½Z¼Å and think again about marrying off their ½{Y{ÅÂ{»{¹{»Ze¹{¯YZ¯¾ËY¾» daughters so young.” 2 Shada Nasser, as ½Y´Ë{ ½ZÀz Ä] ¾ÌËZa ¾ÌÀ { {Ây ½Yfy{ Nujood’s lawyer, also hoped that Nujood’s Y{Z |ÀË|ÀÌ]ÃZ]Á{{»¾ËY{Á|ÀÅ{³ KLJK SUR¿OH FDVH ZRXOG GHPRQVWUDWH WR Ã|¿ÁaįdY{|Ì»Y,{Ân¿¶Ì¯Á½YÂÀÄ]Z¿ other young girls that they don’t have to ½Z¿´Ë{µZÁ¾º¯½Yfy{Ä]{Ân¿ÂÆ» remain trapped in abusive marriages. 3 ]ÖÀf^»ÕZÅkYÁ{Y{|ÀfÌ¿Â^n»ZÆ¿Mį|Å{ Shada Nasser, alongside supportive children’s and women’s rights groups, |À¿Z¼]Ö«Z]Ã{Z¨fYL agrees that the best cure for the child bride ©Â¬uÖ»ZuÕZÅÃÁ³ZÀ¯{Z¿Y{Z epidemic is education, which is a crucial ¾ËfÆ]įdYª§Y»¿¾ËYZ],½Z¯{¯Á½Z¿ supplementary goal for combatants of »M,½Z¯{¯kYÁ{Y̳Y§¶°»ÕY]ÃY child brides in Yemen. With nearly 75% ÃZ^»ÕY]Õ|mÁ¶¼°»Ö§|Å,»M dY of Yemeni women illiterate and many too Z^ˬe dY ¾¼Ë { ½Z¯{¯ kYÁ{Y Ä̸ poor to go to school, families feel forced YÕZÌ]Á|ÀfÅ{YÂÖ]ÖÀ¼Ë½Z¿Y|{ www.tavaana.org ¾¼Ë{½Z¯{¯kYÁ{YÄ̸ÃZ^»-Ö¸{Ân¿ to marry their daughters to older men who { |¿Á]Ä|»Ä]|À¿YÂeÖ¼¿¬§c|YZÆ¿M many hope will raise the girls. 4 Parents į |ÀÀ¯Ö» Z^mY ZuY ZÅÃ{Y¿Zy µZu ¾ËY generally do not believe that marriages Ze|ÀÅ{ÅÂe¾»½Y{»Ä]Y{Ây½Yfy{ ZLOO EH FRQVXPPDWHG ZLWKLQ WKH ¿UVW few years, as it is forbidden by Yemeni Z»Â¼,¾Ë|·YÁ |ÀÀ¯±]Y½Z¿Yfy{ZÆ¿M law until the girl has reached puberty. Ä]Â]»µZ¼YÁkYÁ{Yį|ÀfÌ¿ÁZ]¾ËY] However, in Yemen, husbands cannot ½Mª¬veÁ{ÂÖ¼¿ª¬v»µÁYµZ|Àq{½M be tried for sexual violence against their ¡Â¸]Ä]fy{½|̽Z»Ze¾¼Ë½Â¿Z« ZY] wives, making rape against young brides Y½YŽYÂeÖ¼¿Â¯¾ËY{Z»Y dYÂÀ¼» an act impossible to prevent. Changing ļ¯Zv»{Ây½Z¿Ä̸ÖÀmd¿ÂyZyÄ] the law is an important step, but educating young girls and convincing families not to ÄmÁ pÌÅ Ä] į {ÂÖ» hZ] »Y ¾ËY {¯ marry their daughters at an early age are µZÁ¾º¯ZÌ]½Yfy{Ä]ÁZneY½YÂf¿ equally instrumental. 5 ºÆ»ZÌ]¹Z³®Ë,½Â¿Z«Ì̤e {¯Õ̳¸m ¿Z«ÁµZÁ¾º¯½Yfy{»MZ»YdY Leadership ½Yfy{½{Y{Ź|dÆmZÅÃ{Y¿Zy½{¯ Nujood’s courageous decision to end {Y{d̼ÅYÃY|¿Y½Z¼ÅÄ],¾ÌËZa¾ÌÀ{{Ây her marriage was a historic event for Yemen, as few precedents existed for her action. As Nujood said, “I’m a simple Õ^Å village girl whose family had to move Ä] ½{Y{ ļeZy ÕY] {Ân¿ Ä¿ZZn ºÌ¼e to the capital, and I have always obeyed {Â]¾¼ËÕY]ÖzËZeÄi{Zu®Ë,{ÂykYÁ{Y the orders of my fathers and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to {ÂmÁÄ]Z»{»|ÀqZÆÀeÁY¶¼ÕY]½Âq everything. Today I have decided to say fy{ ®Ë ¾» į dY{ ZÆY {Ân¿ dY{ no.”6 Nujood’s accounts of the trial reveal Ä] Â^n» YÃ{Y¿Zy į ºfÅ Ã{Z ÖËZfÁ her shock and awe that her case could |acYÂf{YÄ̼ž»Á{Â]dzfËZaÄ]µZ¬f¿Y draw such attention: “I would never have į¹YÄf§³{ZËÃY¼Š¹YÃ{¯dZYº¿Y{Y]Á imagined stirring up so much interest. Ä¿ºË´]į¹YÄf§³ºÌ¼eÁ»Y ÕMºË´] Me! A silent victim for so many months, suddenly propelled into the spotlight, facing all these journalists.” 7 Nujood’s experience is a testament to the fact that despite age, anyone with courage can stand up for her rights. Hillary Clinton has called Nujood “one of the greatest women I have ever seen…She set an example with her courage.” 8 ½Z¿©Â¬u ZÅÄ]ne www.tavaana.org Nujood’s case would have been hard to YÁY|Å{Ö»½Z¿,ÃZ³{Y{½ZËmY{Ân¿Y³ win without the help and guidance of Shada Ã{¯\¸m{ÂyÄ]YÖÆmÂe¾ÌÀq{»İÀËY Nasser, a prominent human rights lawyer in Yemen. Upon learning of Nujood’s story į¹{¯Ö¼¿Âe³ÅdYÃ{Â]cÌu{ from a sympathetic judge in Sana’a, Nasser ¾» |Z]ÄfY{{ÂmÁYmZ»¾ËYÄ]Ä«ÔļžËY contacted the Yemen Times to spread ¯»Ä]ÃZ]®Ë,d¯ZÖ¿Z]«®ËZÅÃZ»ÕY] Nujood’s story, leading to groundswells of ½YZ´¿Ä»Z¿Á¾ËYļÅZ]Á¹|Ã|¿Z¯ÄmÂe international support. 9 Nasser’s desire to YÖ°ËY{Ân¿,½ÂfÀ̸¯ÕÔÌÅ ºf³ÄmY» ¿JKWIRUWKHULJKWVRIZRPHQDQGJLUOVDQG Ã|¿YÂy¹YÃ|Ë{½ÂÀ¯Ze¾»Ä¯Ö¿Z¿¾Ëe±] her refusal to be intimidated by the male- ®ËÄ]fZnZ]ÁY|˳ֻ½ÂfÀ̸¯ dY dominated courts of Yemen have led her to take on similar cases, helping child brides dYÃ|¶Ë|^e´·Y divorce their husbands at an increasing ®Ë ,Z¿ Y{Z dËY|Å ½Á|] {Ân¿ {» rate since 2008. 10 Ä]d¿YÂeÖ¼¿,¾¼Ë{]©Â¬uÄfm]¶Ì¯Á Y½|Y{^yYaZ¿ |]ZËd{d̬§Â» Civic Environment ,Z À{µ|¼ÅÖZ«®ËªËY{Ân¿½ZfY{ When North and South Yemen united ½ZfY{¾ËYZed§³ Z¼eZ À¼ËZeÄ»Z¿ÁZ] in 1990, there were a number of legal ÕYļqÄ]»Y¾ËY |¿Z]¹Â¼ÔYÄ]Y gray areas that the new government ignored - the more liberal South Yemen Z¿¶ËZ¼e |¶Ë|^eÖ¸¸¼·Y¾Ì]dËZ¼uÕY] had a minimum marriage age of 16, while d»ÁZ¬»Á½Z¯{¯Á½Z¿©Â¬uÕY]ÃZ^»Ä] the North had one of 15. Ultimately the }¨¿dveÕZÅÃZ³{Y{YÖZ¿[ZY]Y]{ Northern age limit was adopted; however, {Y»¾ËY{ÁY |¿Z¯Ä]Z»{Y»Ä]YÁY,½Y{» it was abandoned nine years later when the Ä]d^¿Ã|ÀËY§Öy¿Z]Ze{¯®¼¯½Z¯{¯Ä] minimum age of marriage was altogether |¿Ì´]©Ô½Z¿YÅÂY,µZ abolished, dooming the lives of many young girls in Yemen. Yemen has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Ö¿|»ÕZ§ the world (370 per 100,000), due in large {Ö·Z¼¾¼ËÁÖ]ÂÀm¾¼Ë{ZveYYa part to the fact that many girls under the d¸¨£{»֫¬u¶ËZ»YÖy],µZ age of 15 are forced to have children of their own.