Child Marriage In Yemen: 11-Year-Old Nada Debates With Egyptian Cleric

When 11-year-old Nada Al-Ahdal's video, in which she explained why she was fleeing a forced marriage, went viral (to view MEMRI TV Clip 3919, click here), Nada was catapulted to fame, and the issue of child marriage in Yemen, along with its often tragic consequences, was brought to the limelight.[1] A recent TV show hosted Nada and her uncle in a debate on the topic of girl brides, along with Egyptian cleric Sheikh Abu Yahya, who defended the practice. In this debate, broadcast on September 16, 2013 by the Lebanese Al-Jadid/New TV channel, Sheikh Abu Yahya said that "contractual marriage" can take place "from the moment the baby girl is born, draws her first breaths, and is given a name," but that sex is not permitted until the girl reaches puberty and then only "if the girl can tolerate it." Asked by the TV host how one could tell whether a 9- or 10-year-old girl could "tolerate" sex, he responded: "It depends on her physique and on what her mother and aunts [say]." Sheikh Abu Yahya further said that he would marry off his own daughter at nine years of age if she had reached puberty.

Nada recounted details of her ill-fated marriage, saying that her parents had promised her a new dress when she was supposed to marry the 26-year-old man. "They told me it was a game, but it isn't. It turns you into a servant, and places a burden that is greater than you can bear on your shoulders," said Nada. She made an impassioned plea to set up an organization to help young girls like her. To view MEMRI TV Clip 4002, click here.

On September 18, Sky News Arabia aired a report giving an insight into the fate of Yemeni girls not as fortunate as Nada. It portrayed the fate of Saada, a Yemeni girl whose husband abandoned her to fend for herself and her two children, and her 13-year-old sister Amina, who was married for only a few months before fleeing back to her family. "In the absence of laws… setting a minimum age for marriage, the tragedy of minor girls being married off continues," says the reporter. "But every time another victim joins the ranks of the so-called 'death brides,' the debate flares up again." To view MEMRI TV Clip 4004, click here.

Nada Al-Ahdal: "They Told Me It Was A Game, But It Isn't"

Following are excerpts from the September 16 Al-Jadid/New TV debate:

Nada Al-Ahdal: "As you know, I fled marriage and ignorance, so that I could continue to study. I didn't run away just because of the [intention] to marry me off, but because of the ignorance and because I wanted to study."

Interviewer: "How old were you when they married you off?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Ten years old."

Interviewer: "How old was the man who married you?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "26 years old."

Interviewer: "When they told you they wanted to marry you off, what did you know about marriage?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "They told me it was a game, but it isn't. It turns you into a servant, and places a burden that is greater than you can bear on your shoulders."

Interviewer: "[Your parents] told you that marriage was a game?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Yes."

Interviewer: "How long did you stay with the man you were married to?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "I didn't marry him. I was engaged to him."

Interviewer: "So you ran away before you were married to him?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "A week before."

Interviewer: "You fled to your uncle?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Yes."

Interviewer: "Was [the bridegroom] Yemeni or of a different nationality?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "He's Yemeni."

Interviewer: "Who encouraged you to flee marriage?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Nobody did."

Interviewer: "You felt you had to run away…"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Yes. I told myself that I would call Abd Al-Jabbar, and that if that didn't help, I would call somebody else, or else this would be the end of my life."

Interviewer: "Who told you that you had to get married? Your father? Your mother?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Both of them."

Interviewer: "What did they tell you?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: |They said: 'You're going to get married. You'll get a new dress.' Things like that."

Interviewer: "Are you a poor family?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Sort of… Yes."

Interviewer: "Do you know how much the bridegroom paid [your parents]?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "Yes."

Interviewer: "How much?"

Nada Al-Ahdal: "2,000 dollars."

[…]

"My mother told the police that my uncle kidnapped me, but it was me who fled to him."

Nada's Uncle: Nada's Two Sisters, Aged 12 And 14, Soon To Be Married

The interviewer turns to the uncle

Interviewer: "Abd Al-Salam, Nada fled to you. How come you didn't think the same way as your brother, when he decided to marry off his daughter?"

Abd Al-Salam Al-Ahdal: "As a matter of fact, Nada doesn't live with her parents. If she had been living with them, she would have ended up just like her sisters, who were married off…"

Interviewer: "She has sisters who were married off?"

Abd Al-Salam Al-Ahdal: "One sister, who is 12 years old, will be married soon, after the holiday. Another, who is 14, will be married off on Thursday. [Nada] lived with me for two years, and would spend her summer holidays with me, so I could devote more time to her education and culture."

[…]

Sheikh Abu Yahya: As Soon As A Baby Girl Is Born, A "Contractual Marriage" Is Permitted

Egyptian cleric Sheikh Abu Yahya: "There is a difference between contractual marriage and consummated marriage. A contractual marriage can take place from day one. From the moment the baby girl is born, takes her first breaths, and is given a name, her guardian, who is her father only – and there is consensus about this in the Muslim world – is allowed to marry her off. This is an accepted custom, and perhaps even my grandparents and your grandparents married this way. The boy is kept for the girl, and vice versa.

"This marriage – a contractual marriage or engagement – is permitted [at this age]. As for consummation of the marriage – it is not permitted until the woman is ready to bear it. A guardian who acts otherwise is harming the girl under his charge."

Interviewer: "At what age is she ready for him?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "This varies from girl to girl. One girl may be ready at the age of nine, and another may not be ready even at 25."

[...]

Sheikh Abu Yahya: Marriage Consummation Permitted At Puberty "If The Girl Can Tolerate It"

Interviewer: "If you had a girl who reached puberty at nine years of age..."

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "I would marry her for sure. If she has reached puberty..."

Interviewer: "You would marry her off?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "If you say she has reached puberty, that's it."

[...]

"If I had a daughter who reached puberty, I would marry her off. People must understand that there is a distinction between contractual marriage, which is permitted by Islamic law, and consummated marriage, which means sex..."

Interviewer: "We are talking about sex now."

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "With regard to sex, if she might be harmed by it..."

Interviewer: "How could you possibly tell if she would be harmed by it or not?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "It depends on her physique and on what her mother and aunts [say]. They will hear from her whether she could tolerate it or not."

Interviewer: "How can they know from a girl of nine or ten whether she could tolerate it or not?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "How can you tell if a girl of 14 could tolerate it or not? Yet it is the [marriage age] permitted by Spain. And what about a girl of 12 years, which is the [marriage age] permitted in Mexico?"

Interviewer: "Where did you get these figures? Did you search on the Internet? This information that Spain permits [marriage] at 14 and Mexico at 12 – where did you get it from?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "The Vatican – the source of authority for your religion – permits [marriage] at 12."

Interviewer: "Where does this appear?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "The Vatican..."

Interviewer: "Show me where this is written."

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "I will show you my sources if you ask."

Interviewer: "Go ahead..."

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "I am telling you and the viewers that the Vatican [permits marriage] at age 12, Spain at age 13, Japan, at age 13..."

Interviewer: "What is your source?"

Sheikh Abu Yahya: "...Germany at age 14, Italy at age 14, Chile at age 14, France at age 15, and America at age 14. You can see this article, which appeared in The Guardian."

[...]

Nada: There Should Be An Organization To Protect Children

Nada Al-Ahdal: "My final words are directed toward the Arab world. I hope that all the girls will do what I did, but there is nobody there to help them. I hope that an organization will be set up, and then 90% of the girls will flee [forced marriage]. That will happen if there is an organization to protect children, not act against them. It should protect them from everything, not just marriage. That's what I have to say."

[...]

Victims Of Child Marriage - A Life Of Humiliation

Following are excerpts from the September 18 Sky News Arabia report:

Reporter: "Saada and Amina are two victims of child marriage. Saada got married and gave birth to two children. Together, they face an uncertain future, after her husband abandoned them."

Saada: "I don't want a man or anything. I just want to study. It is not good to marry off girls when they are little children. It is better for them to complete their studies, to grow up, and only then to get married, so their fate won't be like mine, suffering humiliation."

Reporter: "Her sister Amina was married at the age of 13. The marriage lasted only a few months, after which she fled to her family, where she suffers the same fate as her sister.

"In the absence of laws prohibiting this phenomenon and setting a minimum age for marriage, the tragedy of minor girls being married off continues.

Sky News Arabia: Poverty, Illiteracy Among Causes Of Child-Bride Phenomenon

Reporter: "Child marriage is an old-new issue. Some attribute it to poverty, illiteracy, and the lack of awareness of the health and social hazards that accompany this phenomenon.

"But every time another victim joins the ranks of the so-called 'death brides,' the debate flares up again."

Passerby: "Child marriage in Yemen is not a phenomenon, as some claim. This is an attempt by some organizations to benefit by creating a problem where it does not exist."

Protestor: "Nobody should trivialize this. It is, indeed, a prevalent phenomenon. We hear of dozens of young girls who are killed every day."

[…]

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