WUNRN
YEMEN
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Twelve-year-old
Sally al-Sabahi is |
SANAA, 28 March 2010 (IRIN) - Throngs
of journalists pushed forward to get a picture of 12-year-old Sally al-Sabahi
as she signed her divorce papers in the Yemeni capital on 27 March. As she
dipped her thumb in dark ink and pressed it next to her name on an official
document, she became
IRIN
reported on Sally’s
story in February, when she was referred to as Aisha to protect her
identity. She was 10 years old when her family married her off to an older man
in exchange for a US$1,000 dowry. Within her first week of marriage, Sally
began trying to escape the terrible treatment she said she received from her
husband.
A few
months later she succeeded in escaping but could not get a divorce, largely
because her father did not have the money to pay back the dowry. On
reading IRIN's article about Sally, several people came forward
offering to contribute. One of them was Nalan Gungor Ozisik, who works as
a lecturer at
“I
refuse to watch ignorance misrepresent Islam,” she said. “I hope that Sally can
now get on with her childhood; since a happy childhood is the birthright of all
children in the world.”
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|
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The moment 12-year-old Sally
al-Sabahi signed her divorce papers in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. After the
divorce she thanked all the people that made it possible |
Several
women’s rights campaigners were present at the courthouse in Sanaa. “This is a
step in the right direction,” said Belqes Ali al-Lahabi, a woman’s rights
activist. “Sally’s divorce will help apply pressure on the government to pass
the law of a minimum age for marriages in
Minimum age debated
Sally’s
divorce comes after weeks of heated debates about a new law setting a minimum
age for marriages at 17, which has polarised
According
to the Washington DC-based International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), just under half all girls in
“I
support the idea of setting a minimum age for marriage that is not less than 18
years old,” said Judge Mansour Ali Mohammed, who presided over Sally’s divorce.
“When a man marries a child and they have children, then you end up with a
child raising a child.”
During
the divorce proceedings Sally sat quietly, only speaking to confirm her name
and to accept the divorce. Afterwards she thanked all those who had made it
possible “I have felt this dark cloud over my head for so long – now it’s gone.
Thank you,” she said.
_________________________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: WUNRN
ListServe
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 7:14 PM
Subject: Yemen - Islamic Clerics Oppose Child Bride Ban
WUNRN
Yemen - Islamic Clerics Oppose Child
Bride Ban - Government to Decide
March 22, 2010
Ahmed Al-Haj,Hadeel Al-Shalchi
Yemeni women hold up the Quran and Arabic placard reading
"yes to the legal rights of the Muslim woman" as they take part in a
protest outside the parliament in San'a, Sunday, March 21, 2010. AP
PHOTO
SAN’A, YEMEN—Some of Yemen's most influential Islamic leaders,
including one the U.S. says mentored Osama bin Laden, have declared supporters
of a ban on child brides to be apostates.
The religious decree, issued Sunday, deeply imperils efforts to
salvage legislation that would make it illegal for those under the age of 17 to
marry.
The practice is widespread in
More than a quarter of Yemen's females marry before age 15,
according to a report last year by the Social Affairs Ministry. Tribal custom
also plays a role, including the belief that a young bride can be shaped into
an obedient wife, bear more children and be kept away from temptation.
A February 2009 law set the minimum age for marriage at 17, but
it was repealed and sent back to parliament's constitutional committee for
review after some lawmakers called it un-Islamic. The committee is expected to
make a final decision on the legislation next month.
Some of the clerics who signed Sunday's decree sit on the
committee.
The group behind the declaration also includes Yemen's most
influential cleric, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the United States has
branded a spiritual mentor of bin Laden. Al-Zindani denies being a member of
al-Qaida.
In a further challenge to the rights groups pushing for a ban,
government officials are reluctant to challenge al-Zindani and other
conservative tribal and religious figures whose support they need to hold onto
power in the fragile nation.
The religious leaders organized a protest against the
legislation on Sunday by a group of women. Hidden behind black face veils and
robes, the women carried signs that read "Yes to the Islamic rights of
women."
"I was married at 15 and have many children now," said
one of the women, Umm Abdul-Rahman. "And I will marry my daughter at the
same age if I decide she is ready for it."
The issue of Yemen's child brides vaulted into the headlines
three years ago when an 8-year-old girl boldly went by herself to a courtroom
and demanded a judge dissolve her marriage to a man in his 30s. She eventually
won a divorce, and legislators began looking at ways to curb the practice.
In September, a 12-year-old Yemeni child-bride died after
struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights
organization said.
A rights group pushing for a ban planned a protest for Tuesday.
"The government has two options: to give girls in Yemen a
chance at life or to condemn them to a death sentence," said Amal Basha,
chairwoman of the group, Sisters Arab Forum in Yemen.
Yemen once set 15 as the minimum age for marriage, but
parliament annulled that law in the 1990s, saying parents should decide when a
daughter marries.
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