8yo girl asks for divorce in Yemeni court

[Memnoch]

8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By: Hamed Thabet SANA’A, April 9 - An eight-year-old girl decided last week to go the Sana’a West Court to prosecute her father, who forced her to marry a 30-year-old man. Nojoud Muhammed Nasser arrived at court by herself on Wednesday, April 2, looking for a judge to handle her case against her father, Muhammed Nasser, who forced her two months ago to marry Faez Ali Thamer, a man 22 years her senior. The child also asked for a divorce, accusing her husband of sexual and domestic abuse. According to Yemeni law, Nojoud cannot prosecute, as she is underage. However, court judge Muhammed Al-Qathi heard her complaint and subsequently ordered the arrests of both her father and husband. “My father beat me and told me that I must marry this man, and if I did not, I would be raped and no law and no sheikh in this country would help me. I refused but I couldn’t stop the marriage,” Nojoud Nasser told the Yemen Times. “I asked and begged my mother, father, and aunt to help me to get divorced. They answered, ‘We can do nothing. If you want you can go to court by yourself.’ So this is what I have done,” she said. Nasser said that she was exposed to sexual abuse and domestic violence by her husband. “He used to do bad things to me, and I had no idea as to what a marriage is. I would run from one room to another in order to escape, but in the end he would catch me and beat me and then continued to do what he wanted. I cried so much but no one listened to me. One day I ran away from him and came to the court and talked to them.” “Whenever I wanted to play in the yard he beat me and asked me to go to the bedroom with him. This lasted for two months," added Nasser. "He was too tough with me, and whenever I asked him for mercy, he beat me and slapped me and then used me. I just want to have a respectful life and divorce him.” Nasser’s uncle, who does not want to reveal his name, is following the case now as her guardian. According to her uncle, after Muhammed Nasser, the girl's father, lost his job as a garbage truck driver in Hajjah, he became a beggar, and soon after suffered from mental problems. Thamer is in jail now. “Yes I was intimate with her, but I have done nothing wrong, as she is my wife and I have the right and no one can stop me," he said. "But if the judge or other people insist that I divorce her, I will do it, it’s ok.” The husband YT Photo by Hamed Thabet So far, no accusations have been made against her father, who was later released due to health problems, or Nasser's husband, who will remain in jail for further investigation. “So far there is no case and no charges, as Nojoud arrived by herself to court asking just for a divorce,“ said Shatha Ali Nasser, a lawyer in the Supreme Court who is following Nojoud Nasser’s story. Shatha Ali Nasser confirmed that item number 15 in Yemeni civil law reads that “no girl or boy can get married before the age of 15." However, this item was amended in 1998 so parents could make a contract of marriage between their children even if they are under the age of 15. But the husband cannot be intimate with her until she is ready or mature,” said Nasser.“This law is highly dangerous because it brings an end to a young girl’s happiness and future fruitful life. Nojoud did not get married, but she was raped by a 30-year old man.” Nasser confirmed that Nojoud Nasser’s case is not the first of its kind in Yemen, but it is the first time that a girl went to court by herself to ask for a divorce. “We are not planning to return Nojoud to her family. Who knows? Maybe after a few years the same thing will happen to her again," said Shatha Ali Nasser. "We are planning to put her in Dar Al-Rahama [an non-governmental organization that works with children], where she can have a better life and education. We do not want her family to pay her expenses, as they are poor.” http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1145&p=front&a=2

What a brave little girl. At an innocent age when she should have been playing with dolls and doing other little-girl things, she's been forced to grow up far too early.

[Bungleau]

My daughter is eleven. To think of this at eight... were I the father, I should rightly be thrown in jail... or away. Were I the "husband", I should be jailed as a pedophile.

Were I the other relatives who turned a blind eye, I should have to suffer the pain and humiliation of the memory for the rest of my life.

And even as I write this, I'm reminded that different parts of the world have different cultures, different rules, different mores... but I think some things are universal. Abuse of children is one of them.

[Balintherlas]

Good God that makes me sick, I don't care where in the world you are, for a grown man to have sex with a little girl is wrong and evil. I would hope that the so called husband is severly punished.

[Unglaublich Verwustung]

"she is my wife and I have the right and no one can stop me" - how can anyone be so fundamentally flawed that they can't see this is wrong? This would be wrong if she was a grown woman, the fact that she is a child brings a whole different set of problems on top of this.
It beggars belief that this can be seen as in any way acceptable - and that her family allowed it. I am so appalled that I can't even work out quite what to say, but my somewhat pacifist tendencies are being stretched at the moment. This behavior, and any other like it, shouldn't remain unpunished, but what the hell kind of punishment can possibly fit a crime where the perpetrator doesn't even recognise the wrong in what they've done, and the harm caused can never be erased?
There are some things which I believe are unforgivable, this is way up the list.

[Ziroc]

Yeah, I hope she can get away from there. So barbaric. Hope someone beats the crap out of that trash. Sick. Just unbelievable.

[Spirits Reborn]

So...Unbelievable. Gah


Makes me sick.

[Bungleau]

In an update, the marriage has been terminated.

Court terminates 8-year-old girl's marriage SANAA (Reuters) - A Yemeni court ordered the marriage of an eight-year-old girl terminated on Tuesday because she had not reached puberty. The court also ordered the child's family to pay about $250 in compensation to the 30-year-old ex-husband. The girl's lawyer and human rights activist Shatha Nasser said the minor had filed a suit in April asking for divorce and told the court that her husband had been physically abusing her and forcing her to have "sex with him after hitting her." One of the people attending the trial volunteered to pay the compensation, the lawyer said, but did not explain the reason why the court ordered the compensation. The ruling terminated the marriage instead of granting a divorce to prevent the husband from seeking to reinstate the marriage, according to the lawyer. Many minor girls in Arab countries that observe tribal traditions are married to older husbands but not before puberty. Such marriages are also driven by poverty in countries like Yemen, one of the poorest countries outside Africa. (Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; writing by Inal Ersan)

Interesting that it had to be termination instead of divorce... the fact that it's because she hadn't hit puberty yet *really* makes me sick. !#$%!#$ pedophile...

Boneheads to the court for assessing *her* family a $250 fine to be paid to the lecherous ex.

Bones to the person who volunteered to pay it for them.

Words nearly fail me...

[Memnoch]

What amazes me is how mature this little girl has had to become - to come to court by herself, to find a judge and talk to him about her horrific experiences, and to carry herself around like an adult. Look at the picture of her - she should be playing in a playground instead of representing herself in court. At least a lawyer had the conscience to represent her (presumably for free as I'm sure she wouldn't have been able to pay).

Hopefully they toss the sicko husband in jail and throw away the keys. And what's that about the family having to pay the husband? That's just wrong.

[wellard]

I will not listen to any claims by Muslims that there religion is enlightened until there is world wide Muslim condemnation of such an act and effective actions to prevent similar cases. At least Christian countries like the USA now act quickly, like in the recent case involving that 'sect' of the latter day saints, and recent changes of churches to prosecute rather than hide priests that commit disgusting acts.

* sigh *

[Firestormalpha]

The core problem being that many muslim nations still view women as property. IIRC ranking them only slightly higher than slaves. The idea of women having any real rights is still relatively new to them.

That aside, if you read the article thoroughly you'll find that despite the "husband's" claims that he acted according to his rights, he in fact broke his countries own laws by having any kind of sexual act with the girl regardless of her willingness (which in this case it was against). The law stating that the "wife" needs to be of child-bearing age before he's allowed to do anything.


All of that aside, placing anyone into a marriage or any kind of relationship they do not want to be part of is horrible. More so in this case.