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| Arabia |
| UNICEF brings back the issue of child marriage |
| 2014-03-28 |
| [Yemen Post] In yet another report dedicated to Yemen's child marriage dossier, UNICEF published a blurb this Wednesday in which it calls on the authorities to protect all girls from a cruel fate by imposing a legal age limit on marriage. Intent on bringing home the issue of child marriage by putting a face onto what UNICEF qualifies as violation of international law, the UN agency recall the tale of Laila, a young teen whose father, Nasser decided to wed even though she was only 13 years old, without so much as considering her feelings or life aspirations. While Laila was de facto married off, her family members stepped in before the union could be consummated, saving the young girl from a life she neither had chosen, nor wanted for herself. "I started screaming, and my mother rushed out to grab me while my father angrily threatened to beat -- or even kill -- me, if I refused. I was helpless. It was like a nightmare. I saw my world crashing around me. I wanted the nightmare to end so I could be back at school with my friends," Laila told UNICEF when recalling the moment her father announced he had entered her into a marital contract. Over the past year, Yemen has been plagued by such reports; maidens of tender years being forced into marriage with men much older than them, maidens of tender years being brutalized and harmed by their older husbands, maidens of tender years dying from injuries sustained on their wedding nights. Such reports, which it is important to note have often proven to be highly inaccurate and on many instances completely fallacious have led the international community to look on Yemen as a land where children, especially maidens of tender years are being systematically abused by their parents, no more than prizes to be sold to a lucrative wedding industry. While child marriage remains an issue which requires immediate attention, normalization should not be tolerated as it would do a terrible disservice to all those who have indeed suffered such abuse. UNICEF wrote, "In Yemen, child marriage of girls, sometimes as young as 8 years old, is widespread. The recent National Social Protection Monitoring Survey showed that 13% of girls under the age of 18 in Yemen are married, and that nearly half of women between the ages of 20 and 49 were married before their eighteenth birthday." UNICEF's mention of data implies that a great majority of Yemeni families condone forcing their daughters into marriages they do not desire ... this is clearly a case of misinformation and misrepresentation. While 13% most girls arguably marry young, most of them do so at age 16. Many countries, among which the United States of America, allow such teen marriages. A cluster of activists have suggested that rather than focus on an age limitation, the state should focus on consent as to ensure that only consensual marriages take place, especially since such a requirement falls in perfect alignment with Islam and thus will ensure that an endorsement from the religious authorities. |
| Posted by:Fred |