[roberto]

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 t
The husband YT Photo by Hamed Thabet

he judge or other people insist that I divorce her, I will do it, it’s ok.”

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.”

[roberto]

Originally Posted by roberto

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 t
The husband YT Photo by Hamed Thabet

he judge or other people insist that I divorce her, I will do it, it’s ok.”

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.”

Sorry edit did not work for some reason, here is the sourse
For the first time in Yemen - 8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court - front - Yemen Times

[Jamroll]

Gosh, this is terrible. What a brave young girl. And good on the judge for hearing her case, and arresting her "husband" and her father.

[PhDGirl]

How sad. May Allah (swt) help her and others like her

[zzze]

assalamu alaykum

was she even physically mature enough? That's a brave, clever 8 year old masha Allah. Ameen to the dua.

[TrentReznor858]

Originally Posted by roberto

8
“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.”

”

Are they muslim? How could a father do that to his own daughter? What animals :/

[AmroodWaala]

Originally Posted by TrentReznor858

Are they muslim? How could a father do that to his own daughter? What animals :/

same fathers who sell their daughters - not uncommon in the Pakistani northern regions.
Usually poverty is to blame

[Spice]

Originally Posted by AmroodWaala

same fathers who sell their daughters - not uncommon in the Pakistani northern regions.
Usually poverty is to blame

Thats incredibly heart breaking, and its even worse knowing they dont have any other options... In many cases it comes down to either selling a child off or starving all the rest.
May Allah protect and guide us.

[roberto]

[quote=roberto;122120]8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By: Hamed Thabet



Lets not forget the evil of those who buy.

[Skinwalker]

I'm amazed at the ingenuity and courage of this girl. What age do they usually marry at in Yemen?

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Skinwalker

I'm amazed at the ingenuity and courage of this girl. What age do they usually marry at in Yemen?

Here's what my googling turned up:

"In 1999, the minimum marriage age of fifteen for women, rarely enforced, was abolished; the onset of puberty, interpreted by conservatives to be at the age of nine, was set as a requirement for consummation of marriage."

Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Yemen: Human Rights Developments

-But I don't get it; is it menarche? Or the age of nine?

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Hanbali

The minimum age for enacting marriage under Islamic Law (Shari'ah) is the same as it is under Judaic Law (Halakha) as well as under Biblical Law, which is the onset of puberty.

...and the human head weighs eight pounds.

There is a saying of the Prophet's wife, Aisha [ra], in which she says that a girl turns into a woman at the age of nine, which scholars have interpreted to mean that the average age of menarche at that time was nine.

As for the article, then what happened to the girl is atrocious and not supported by Islamic Law at all.

...The average age... but wouldn't that leave legal room to marry a girl who hadn't even begun to mensturate?

[Skinwalker]

Originally Posted by Hanbali

The minimum age for enacting marriage under Islamic Law (Shari'ah) is the same as it is under Judaic Law (Halakha) as well as under Biblical Law, which is the onset of puberty.

There is a saying of the Prophet's wife, Aisha [ra], in which she says that a girl turns into a woman at the age of nine, which scholars have interpreted to mean that the average age of menarche at that time was nine.

As for the article, then what happened to the girl is atrocious and not supported by Islamic Law at all.

Nowhere in the Bible does it give the legal age at which a woman can be wed, we can only look at the customs of Jewish peoples as well as Christians to see what is considered the average. Otherwise what you are saying is mere supposition. In Israel the current legal age of marriage is 17 years of age for females. There is a movemenet to raise that legal age to 18 as that is considered too young. Amongst most western countries with a Judeo Christian heritage the average legal age is 18. Child marriage is just plain wrong and no religion should be endorsing it.

UNdata | table presentation | Legal age for marriage

[Hanbali]

Don't lie to me. I hate how you Christian hypocrites lie. Don't dare lie, because I will whoop you with the truth. Lying hypocrite Christians.

Age of Marriage in Judaism

The Jewish website, Jewfaq.org, says:

• The minimum age for marriage under Jewish law is 13 for boys, 12 for girls; however, the kiddushin [betrothal] can take place before that, and often did in medieval times.

• (JewFaq.org, http://www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm)

We read further:

• According to Jewish religious law (halacha), which in Israel confers validity on the marriage of Jews conducted within its borders, it is possible to marry a young girl of any age, but the girl herself may decide to marry only when she has reached the age of 12 and a half.

• (Right to Education Organization, htttp://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/israel.html)

The Jewish website, AskMoses.com, says:

• What is the minimum age of marriage according to Jewish law?by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

• …In ancient (and not so ancient) times however, marriage was often-times celebrated at a rather young age. Although we do not follow this dictum, technically speaking, a girl may be betrothed the moment she is born, and married at the age of three.2 A boy may betroth and marry at the age of thirteen.3

• Footnotes

• • 1. Talmud Kiddushin 41a.
  • 2. Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 37:1.
  • 3. Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 43:1.

• (AskMoses.com, http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=573&o=2488)

The Jewish Encyclopedia says:

• Age for Marriage

• The first positive commandment of the Bible, according to rabbinic interpretation (Maimonides, "Minyan ha-Miẓwot," 212), is that concerning the propagation of the human species (Gen. i. 28). It is thus considered the duty of every Israelite to marry as early in life as possible. Eighteen years is the age set by the Rabbis (Ab. v. 24); and any one remaining unmarried after his twentieth year is said to be cursed by God Himself (Ḳid. 29b). Some urge that children should marry as soon as they reach the age of puberty

• (Jewish Encyclopedia, http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=M&artid=216)

In the journal entitled Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal, we find that Jews were still marrying at the age of puberty up until World War I:

• A Daughter’s Coming of Age

• …In earlier days, girls got married at the age of nine…[following the] custom of marrying daughters at age eight to ten…if the maiden does not get married until the age of fifteen she has no hope of marriage, because she would be considered an old maid…At the end of the nineteenth century, despite these regulations, families still married their daughters at the age of twelve and thirteen…On the eve of World War I, the situation changed somewhat for the better when the legal age for marriage was raised to fifteen, with the consent of the parents, who set the amount of the dowry. After the war this situation improved as Jewish society became liberalized and education became more universal, particularly for girls.

• (Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal, http://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/journal/vol3n2/sehayek.html)