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Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Books for Parents
Divorced at age 10. Credit: Amazon
Nujood Ali walked into a Yemeni courtroom and asked to see a judge, because she wanted a divorce. This may seem like a common tale of marital dissolution, but Nujood Ali was just 10 years old when she defied the cultural traditions and walked out on the husband who was more than 20 years her senior.
Nujood, now 12, chronicles her journey from child bride to celebrated hero in her new autobiography, "I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced." Ghostwritten by French newspaper reporter Delphine Minoui, the book details how the young girl shocked citizens of her native Yemen after she walked out on her arranged marriage to a motorcycle delivery man. Nujood's father married her off to the man for a dowry of $250, and for two months she begged her husband every day to return her to her family.
He refused, and so Nujood decided to take action. One afternoon, when her mother sent her on an errand, Nujood took a bus into the crowded capital city of Sanaa. She then hailed a taxi to the courthouse. Not knowing what else to do, she sat on a bench outside a courtroom all day, until a judge noticed her lingering in the empty hallway. He asked what she needed, and the girl said simply, "I came for a divorce."
Now, two years later, the girl tells Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times that she is back in her homeland and is supporting her family with the royalties from her book, which spent five weeks at the top of the bestseller list in France. Her brothers, who once criticized her for shaming their family, seem to have no problem with their sister, now that Nujood is the family breadwinner, Kristof writes.
"They're very nice to her now," Khadija al-Salami, a filmmaker who mentors Nujood, tells the Times. "They treat her like a queen."
Nujood's story isn't just one in which a single child takes a stand and changes her life. The preteen's courage set off a domino effect in Yemen, where very young girls are routinely sold into marriage. Following Nujood's successful divorce petition, two girls, ages 9 and 12, also filed to legally end their marriages. Her ordeal also prompted Yemen's lawmakers to increase the age of consent for marriage from 15 to 18.
Nujood has been honored and feted by journalists in many countries, and on a visit to Paris last year, even met with France's Human Rights Minister, Rama Yada, and Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara, with whom she discussed the problem of child marriage.
What are Nujood's feelings on marriage now? She tells Time magazine she "no longer thinks about marriage."
Related: Gypsy Teens Gather in Bulgaria for Yearly Bride Sale
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
3-07-2010 @ 8:23PM
deedee said...SEE MONEY DOES TALK...Once sis brought in the money her brother's are kissing her little Yemen butt..smdh..Betcha those brothers, parents will protect her so much it's not funny..Poor child..see one has to go thru difficulties to bring in a message to the world...NOT A CELEBRITY helped this young girl ,,,,,but, she, NUJOOD DID THIS HERSELF..
GREAT JOB NUJOOD...
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3-07-2010 @ 9:18PM
Andi said...Betcha she dies in an "accident" once most eyes are off her and the money stops rolling in.
3-07-2010 @ 11:06PM
phil said.....and why didn't a single "Celebrity" offer help, or to even speak up for this young girl? She is in Yemen. Is it politically incorrect to criticize a Muslim country, or to denounce 13th century throwbacks. Sad.
3-07-2010 @ 8:22PM
kimber said...May God bless you!! WOW!!!I hope you have an amazing life and walk with God!! You are in charge of your life and it is a shame that in this day and age we still have this horrific type of oppressive ignorance continuing.
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3-07-2010 @ 9:27PM
joyce said...it is sad to say that things very close to this happen in this country too Utah
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3-07-2010 @ 9:52PM
islamorada2008 said...If you are referring to the Mormon's, keep in mind that there is an FLDS Mormon branch off that marries girl's young, but that the true Mormon's (13 million+)-- the LDS in Utah, do NOT practice polygamy, and girls are encouraged to go to college, get an education and marry and have children in their own time. I am a 16 year old Mormon girl, and all my life, I've been encouraged to be independent by doing well in school and getting an education and choosing how to live my life.
3-07-2010 @ 11:28PM
iloovemormonboys said...Are you really so ignorant that you would make a comment like that? It's pathetic.
3-07-2010 @ 9:55PM
peteswarr said...Typical of the muslims to bring horror to a childhood for no good reason.
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3-07-2010 @ 9:38PM
KatieCouric'sNemesis said...Isn't it ironic...had she not written a book and made a lot of money on it, she probably would not be able to return to her homeland as her brothers would kill her ("honor killings" they call it) for shaming their family.
Of course, now that she's bringing in the daily bread, her life is a little more sacred.
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3-07-2010 @ 10:36PM
Gia said...That is HORRIBLE! Those poor children are being sold by their own parents to creepy DISGUSTING filthy pigs! No REAL man wants a little child for a wife! Pedophiles and perverts are the only ones who would marry a little kid! UGH I can't stand how some 3rd world countries treat their children! It's a sad sick world when a little 10 year old has to see a judge about getting a divorce!
SHAME ON THEIR PARENTS! SHAME ON THE GUTLESS PIGS WHO MARRY LITTLE CHILDREN!
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3-07-2010 @ 10:43PM
gerry said...now she needs to divorce her family
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3-07-2010 @ 11:36PM
VICKISmyrna said...I agree, divorce your parents and run to Paris as fast as your little feet can carry you! Your dog of a Father should be whipped unitl he bleeds, your brothers are no better, they will live off of yoo=u now sweetheart, as long as the money keeps rolling in, you will be safe, when that stops, so will your little life. The Muslim "religion seems to be based on Pedophilia, sell off your young daughters to the highest bidder as long as you pad your pockets and make your life richer, uh, am I right??? If this child had been turned down and word had gotten back to her family she would have simply been disposed of and never heard from ever again and we all know it!!
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3-08-2010 @ 12:28AM
Bryan Merritt said...How sad to sell your own young daughter for a $250 dowrey this should be a crime. No child of 10 yrs should ever be married much less to a man 20yrs her senior it amounts to legal child molesting. This girl should have been protected by her father if not the law not sold to some filthy old man who would keep her for a virtual sex slave. I hope they change the laws this is a terrable custom and its a disgrace. Any girl or woman has the right to choose who she wants to be with. And no one else needs to chose for her. These stone age customs need to change if people are to be free and happy.
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3-08-2010 @ 12:52AM
jusjosjoe said...This part doesn't make sense to me...."One afternoon, when her mother sent her on an errand..." she ended up in front of the judge. Thought she was away from her family being married and all.
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3-08-2010 @ 2:51AM
brihna said...JusJosJoe, This was when she was still back in Yemen while her father was marrying her off. Her mom sent her to the store or whatever and she decided to go to a courthouse instead, and that's when the whole process of her divorce began.
(I think she lives in France now, I'm not sure)
3-08-2010 @ 1:54AM
Sheria said...Arranged marriages for children has nothing to do with being a Muslim. If those of you leaping to conclusions about a religion which you know nothing about would have followed any of the links in the story you would have learned that child marriages for those under the age of 15 were illegal at the time that this child was married. In additon, as horrifying as it sounds in the 21st century, dowries were common in Europe and even paid in the U.S. as late as the early 20th century. It can be argued that there are still dowries paid when wealthy families marry their children to one another and by doing so strengthen their financial empire.
In the U.S., the majority of states require that you be 18 before you can marry without parental consent. However, South Carolina allows girls as young as 14 and boys as young as 16 to marry with parental consent. Most other states will allow people as young as 16 to marry with parental consent.
Yemen's law required that the girl be 15; these parents violated the law. As a result of this case, the official age for marriage in Yemen has been raised to 18, the same as in the U.S., unless you have parental consent to marry at a younger age. So you see, those barbaric Muslims that you condemn allow teenagers to marry just as we do in the U.S.
The judge that questioned the child as to why she was at the courthouse was horrified when she told him that she wanted a divorce and took her home with him to play with his eight year old daughter. He officially granted her divorce two days later. The point is that child marriages are not prescribed by Islam and are not a practice of being a Muslim. It is driven, as are many things in this world, by money. Poor families look at their daughters as assets to be married off for a dowry payment. The practice is wrong and detrimental to the girls who are victims of it. However, the self-righteous, sanctimonious, anti-Islamic vitriol that some of you spout only displays that you are either a bigot or perhaps just ignorant, or a scary combination of the two.
I really don't know which is worse, bigotry or ignorance. I read constant protests from people as to how they are not prejudiced and I'd like to believe them, but what do you call it when people jump to bizarre conclusions condemning an entire nation of people based on illegal behavior by some of those people. As someone mentioned, there are some people who identify themselves as Mormon who practice polygamy and child marriage. Their actions are not condoned by the mainstream Mormon church. I've never concluded that all Mormons believe in polygamy or child marriage because of the illegal actions of this fringe group.
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3-08-2010 @ 3:07AM
deedee said...thank u for this knowledgable information...thank u very much..
3-08-2010 @ 2:26AM
crimsonsbay said...You are all idiots. There are extremists in very culture. The news show cases the worst in Muslim culture and we are so quick to judge. I guess the catholic priests were in their right to abuse children. Baptist’s ministers were okay to beat, cheat, and abuse their wives. She is beyond brave for speaking up and standing for her rights. Human rights.
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3-08-2010 @ 2:57AM
Bakendon said...It is sad that she is supporting her family! They sold her to a pedophile and now she is taking care of them? I wouldn't give them a pot to piss in.
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3-08-2010 @ 3:12AM
deedee said...@PHIL'S COMMENT:....that's Y I said she NUJOOD did this herself...not a single celebrity helped her...one has to go ...Y I have to repeat myself again...just re-read my post on this..She's a very brave young lady...she risked her life by doing this unmentionable action..Can u imagine if the judge didn't listen to her..?? He could've returned her to her family so she would face death...but he didn't...HE CARED... C A R E D.....I HIGHLY COMMEND HER...
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