Skip to main content

Video: Yemeni Girl’s Plea Against Child Marriage After Escaping Marriage At 11


Yemeni girlA three-minute video clip about an 11-year-old Yemeni girl speaking out against child marriage after having escaped it herself has gone viral on the internet.
Nada Al Ahdal says in the video that she would rather die than be forced into marriage with an older man.
“It’s true that I ran away from my family. I can’t live with them anymore. Enough. I want to live with my uncle,” she says.
The video clip, subtitled in English by the Israeli-run Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has had more than seven million views since it was first posted on the insititute’s YouTube channel on July 21.
The girl says in the video that she had first fled to her uncle’s house but he was not there, which led her to head to a police station. She said she now wants to live with her uncle, but that her parents had threatened to kill her if she had tried to seek refuge with him.
“What kind of people threaten their children like that?” she questioned. “Go ahead and marry me off. I’ll kill myself,” she said.
She cited her maternal aunt’s story as an example. The aunt was married at the age of 14 but killed herself one year later by setting herself alight. “He [her husband] would beat her with metal chains. He would get drunk,” she said.
According to a report on Huffington Post, Nada’s uncle, Abdul Salam Al Ahdal, a montage and graphics technician at a TV station, has protected his niece from being married off twice. Nada’s parents first accepted an offer from a wealthy expatriate, but Al Ahdal intervened and told the prospective groom that Nada was not nearly modest enough for him, in order to “scare him off”, according to the report.
“When I heard about the groom, I panicked,” he said. “Nada was not even 11 years old; she was exactly 10 years and 3 months. I could not allow her to be married off and have her future destroyed.”
Nada also argues that while she was able to solve her problem by fleeing her home and going to the police station, other children may not have the same opportunities. Other children “might die, commit suicide, or do whatever comes to mind”.
Although, child marriage is not common in Nigeria, recent deliberation in Nigeria’s Senate showed the Section 29 (4)(b) of the 1999 constitution gives room for it.
The clause, which states “Any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age,” clearly accommodates underage marriage.
Despite the section up for amendment having to do with persons qualified to renounce Nigerian citizenship, and not the issue of underage marriage, comments have shown Nigerians are divided along religious lines on the issues, with many arguing it is ethical in Islam.
Several other Muslims however disagree and the controversy is still on, with many rights group calling for the deletion of the clause which they say accommodates the act of ‘perverts’ who marry girls younger than their daughters.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MISS EDEMAYA BEAUTY PAGEANT 2013

EdemAya, a community so rich in mineral resources, and one of the five clans that make up the present day Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria is hosting the world on the 29 th of March 2013. As we gathered from the head of the organizing group, Miss Precious Dominic Akpan, the event is scheduled to take place at the Cooperative Hall, Ikot Ubo Akama, Edemaya in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State. Three beauties are to emerge from the event which promises to be the first ever organized pageant. The Eligibility Form which are currently on sale for a token of N 2,000 will qualify the contestants to struggle for Miss EdemAya, Miss Democracy of EdemAya and Miss Culture & Tourism of EdemAya. The screening and training of the contestants commences on 25 th through 28 th of March 2013. We have been reliably informed that the event will parade ‘who is who’ in the music industry in Akwa Ibom State and a popular reggae artist from Delta State. Imagine the sque...

Snoop Lion Excommunicated From The Rastafari Community

Snoop Lion excommunicated from the Rastafari Community, according to Bunny Wailer! Bunny has always had his doubts about  Snoop Lion ‘s intent and now his skepticism has taken an even stronger stance, that of excommunication. The news was broken via his  Facebook  profile and via  press release . Recently Snoop Lion has struggled to convince the Rastafari and Reggae community that he is sincere about his profession of, and transition to the faith, principles and beliefs of Rastafari. Most doubtful is Bunny Wailer the only living member of the original Wailer. ‘ Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it. Some groups use the term disfellowship instead, ‘ stated Bunny’s official release. With that said, this would surely deprive Snoop Lion from direct contact to some elders within the Rastafarian community also, access to vital information and place of wo...

VIDEO: Two Girls Stripped In Public For Stealing Brazilian Hair

These two young girls were stripped naked in public by a shop owner after they were caught stealing  Brazilian hair . According to information gathered, these girls entered  the shop  as if they were interested in purchasing something. One of the girl’s intentionally decided to engage the owner in a conversation by asking lot of questions on the types of  Brazilian  hairs at the store and then the other girl was busy stealing Brazilian hairs. Watch the video  below: