Hope at last for Yemen's child brides as the country's leaders finally act to stop forced marriages of girls as young as NINE

• The Yemeni minister for Legal Affairs is to put forward a bill to ban it
• Since 2008, cases of brides as young as nine have come to light
• Campaigners have offered a cautious welcome to the reports
• Harrowing cases include that of Ilham, 13, who died days after her wedding

 

From Sally Al-Sabahi who, after being married at the age of 10, was raped and beaten by her much older husband to 13-year-old Ilham who, in 2010, died from internal bleeding four days after being forcibly married, the plight of Yemen's child brides makes for harrowing reading.

But following international condemnation and campaigns by charities such as UNICEF and Equality Now, the country's government finally appears ready to end the shocking tradition once and for all.

Fouad Al Ghaffari, the director general of Yemen's Ministry of Human Rights, has revealed that the country's minister for Legal Affairs, Mohammed Al Mikhlafi, is to submit a bill that would outlaw child marriages if passed.



Protest: A former child bride attends a demonstration against the practice in the Yemeni capital Sana'a



And in a sign that attitudes might finally be changing in the Middle Eastern country, it was reported last week that police officers stepped in to prevent the marriage of a nine-year-old girl in the southern city of Taiz - the first time such an intervention has taken place.

According to reports on the BBC website, police halted the wedding and convinced the father of the girl, named locally as Hiba, not to allow the nuptials to go ahead.

Although there is nothing currently to prevent Hiba's wedding from happening at a later date, campaigners are cautiously welcoming of the intervention and the news that legislation could be imminent.

'In 2009, the Yemeni parliament considered a draft bill that fixed the minimum age of marriage for girls at age 17 and included penalties and punishment for those in violation,' said Equality Now's Middle East and North Africa consultant, Suad Abu-Dayyeh.

'Unfortunately this was not successful, but we are heartened that the Yemeni Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashhour has requested the reintroduction of this bill, which would effectively ban child marriages in the country.'



Rescued: Nojud Ali, 8, (left) and nine year-old Arwa were granted divorces after being forcibly married in 2008



She added: 'Along with our local partners, the Yemen Women's Union, we wholeheartedly support the minister and the Human Rights Ministry in their efforts to ensure that the government of Yemen lives up to its obligations under international law by passing a law prohibiting child marriage so that girls are no longer forced to undergo the harmful physical and psychological effects of child marriage.


'It is also promising that the government appears to be be taking steps to deal with this issue head-on and protect girls from this devastating abuse.'

Cases recorded since 2008 include that of 11-year-old Wafa who was married in 2010 to a 40-year-old farmer who repeatedly raped and tortured her and 13-year-old Hind, who in 2009, was married to a 70-year-old man.

While many cases end in tragedy, Wafa was one of the lucky ones after Equality Now and local partner Yemeni Women Union (YWU) successfully helped her obtain a divorce.

'My message to other parents is that they should not think of marrying their daughters at a young age, girls should go to school,' said Wafa.


'I don’t want any girl to suffer as I did. Girls should be educated in order to be able to live happily and in dignity.'

 

 

 

 

 

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