Islamic law and custom guide contemporary yemeni marriages, although government regulations establishing ceilings on brideprice are often ignored. It says that 25 percent of girls in yemen marry before the age of 15. Yemen, the impact of child marriage on children in yemen, and the. This rise in child marriages in yemen is a visible indicator of the conflicts. Child marriage on the rise as conflict in yemen continues. Child marriages have been common all over the world. Dating and marriage practices in yemen dating tips. The population is about 24 million and arabic is the official language, although english is increasingly understood by citizens in the major cities. This practical tool documents the special needs of child brides and outlines. As the girls are getting older, child marriage at such a young age is devastating. Child marriages on the rise amid yemeni conflict the national.
Yemeni girls and women are being forced into child marriages by their families, and have little. Oct 04, 2010 sanaa, yemen cnn yemen s parliament has delayed a vote on a child marriage law that would have raised the minimum legal age for marriage to 17. A panel of yemen experts submitted a 329page report to the security council in january. Yemens civil society and government organizations, with the support of international development agencies, are working hard to combat early marriage. Sanaa, april, 27, 2014 the yemeni government should expedite passage of a draft child rights law establishing 18 as yemens minimum marriage age. Nov 06, 2016 child marriage and rape is still legal in yemen 20 duration. Ippf in collaboration with the forum on marriage and the. More than twothirds of yemeni girls are married off before they reach 18. Child marriage in yemen, documents the lifelong damage to girls who are forced to marry young. Nov 06, 2008 although yemen has a law stating that 15 is the marriageable age, it is frequently flouted, particularly in poor rural areas where society is run along tribal lines. Sep 17, 20 child marriage in yemen as yemen transitions politically and restructures its constitution, the number one priority should be to protect its citizensparticularly yemeni girls who are too often subject to child marriage.
The picture show national geographic magazine photographer stephanie sinclair documents the secret world of child brides in cultures around the world. Oct 09, 2017 2 paths for yemens warscarred children. Yemens next government should set minimum age at 18 beirut, december 8, 2011 widespread child marriage jeopardizes yemeni girls access to education, harms their health, and keeps them. According to a survey from unicef and the government of yemen, in 2006, 14% and 52% of girls are married before the ages of 15 years and 18 years, respectively. Child marriage in yemen april 2011 in yemen, one in three women ages 20 to 24 report that they were married before their 18th birthday. Oct 10, 20 when 11yearold nada alahdals 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. Young girls sit inside a home outside of al hudaydah. Pages in category child marriage in yemen the following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total.
Yemen has backtracked on protecting girls from forced marriage. Yemeniamericans remain closely connected to their families in yemen, and often arrange marriages between young people from both countries. Child marriage has long been a scourge in yemen, one of the few countries in the region without a legal minimum age of marriage. From yemen where there is currently no minimum age for marriage, to libya where the minimum age is 20, early marriage is a varying problem in the middle east and north africa mena. Dec 14, 20 while many children in yemen suffer from poverty, malnutrition, and high rates of illiteracy, child marriage exposes many more to devastating consequences. In january 2015, after pressure from activists, yemen set a minimum age of 18 for marriage in a new constitution. Nkosazana dlaminizuma, chairperson, auc at the international conference on family planning, addis ababa, november 20 african union. Child marriage in the middle east and north africa. A national demographic and health survey in 20 found that nearly 32 per cent of girls in yemen were married before the age of 18, including 9. Jul 07, 2016 in january 2015, after pressure from activists, yemen set a minimum age of 18 for marriage in a new constitution. The legal marriage age of 16 for girls is also difficult to regulate because births are not routinely recorded.
But then the war began and the houthis did not ratify the document. Sep 18, 20 yemen s human rights minister has vowed to ban child marriage after the reported death of an eightyearold girl on her wedding night huriya mashhoor said she would press parliament for the. Thanks to unicef and unfpa jordan, lebanon, yemen, sudan, morocco and egypt country. Ending child, early and forced marriage in yemen equitas. Yemen sanctions regulations regulations for details. Ending child marriage and meeting the needs of married. According to a unicef study from september 2016,in six governorates, early marriage was alarmingly widespread 18. Minister calls for ban after death of eightyearold girl, the. The tragic tales of child brides in the middle east and north africa are many, and these named victims represent only a small fraction of the children affected. Rights group urges yemen to ban child marriage cbs news. In terms of scholarship and international attention, the region is often overshadowed by the child marriage hotspots of subsaharan africa and southeast asia. After years of decline, child marriages are skyrocketing in. According to human rights watch figures from 2006, 14% of girls are married by the time they are 15, and more than 50% before the age of. Although yemen has been much less influenced by american or european ideas than other arab cultures, some outside influence does creep in through the internet and through yemeni communities in other countries.
Oct 01, 20 child marriages are scandalously common in yemen. Child marriage is most common in aljawf and albaidha governorates. Child marriage and rape is still legal in yemen 20 duration. Current yemen sanctions block the property and interests in property of persons determined by the secretary of the treasury, after consultation with the secretary of state, to. Bbc news middle east child marriage and divorce in yemen.
And although there seems to be a positive trend over generations, yemen still has the highest rate of early marriage in western asia and is considered one of the top 20 hot spots for. While child marriage was prevalent in yemen even before the conflict, the situation is far worse now. The girl forced to marry at 11 whose story exposes. The issue of yemens child brides received widespread attention four years ago, when an 8yearold girl boldly went by herself to a courtroom and demanded a.
The report includes similar findings as amnesty internationals yemen country profile in this years. One of the first casualties when families are displaced and lose their incomes is girls, said unicefs spokesman in yemen, rajat madhok. To make matters worse, child marriage rates are soaring. In every region, the poor are most at risk of child marriage percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before age 18, by place of residence. It will also consider how yemens new constitutional provisions or statutes on child marriage should be drafted and what other actions should be taken to end the practice of child marriage in yemen. Combat, or marriage a camp of displaced yemenis in the western village of khamer. In 1999, the government repealed a law setting age 15 as the minimum legal age for marriage. In 1999 yemens parliament, citing religious grounds, abolished article 15 of yemens personal status law, which set the minimum age for marriage for boys and girls at 15. Call to action we must do away with child marriage. Yemen is one of only two countries in the world that as no legislation on the minimum age for marriage. Jenny cuffe, child marriage and divorce in yemen, bbc news, available at. Yemens ministry of social affairs is a government group. Jan 22, 2018 more than twothirds of yemeni girls are married off before they reach 18.
This happens because, in some regions they want to follow their traditions and keep them sacred, when they need money or need to pay off debts, child marriage is the only option. Yemeni womens rights groups agree that child marriage is rampant in every part of yemeni. At the national level, most countries with high rates of child marriage have legally established the minimum age of marriage at 18 to end the practice. From yemen where there is currently no minimum age for marriage, to libya where the. What drives child marriage in the arab world and how the. In rural yemen, usaids safe age of marriage project used community mobilization efforts. The main reason why fathers marry off their girls is because of poverty. Child marriage remains a widely ignored violation of the health and. Yemens human rights minister has vowed to ban child marriage after the reported death of an eightyearold girl on her wedding night huriya mashhoor said. Members of parliament have recently been debating an amendment raising the age limit to 18, but progress has ground to a halt in the face of strong opposition from conservatives. Sep 10, 20 sanaa, april, 27, 2014 the yemeni government should expedite passage of a draft child rights law establishing 18 as yemens minimum marriage age. In 1999, yemens parliament, citing religious grounds, abolished the legal minimum age for marriage for girls and boys, which was. Yemeni law does not permit marriage for girls younger than 15.
The problem, says safa, is that early marriage, driven by patriarchal tradition and poverty, is justified as a solution for families, denying these young girls their rights to life and choice. Child marriage in the middle east and north africa icmec. Child marriage also referred to as early or forced marriage8 is defined as any marriage carried. The yemen times newspaper reports that some girls are married as young as eight. On april 10, 2011 there 1 article 1 of the 1956 supplementary convention on the abolition of slavery, available at. If a woman has to divorce a man in yemen she has to provide reasons, and she can only have one husband. Yemen ratified the convention on the rights of the child in 1991, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women cedaw in 1984, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage. In a humanitarian crisis caused by the war, children are bearing much. This rise in child marriages in yemen is a visible indicator of the conflicts disproportionate impact on children. While there is little information on the prevalence of child marriage in yemen, unicef estimates that 32% of girls are married before the age of 18.
Tragedy shines light on lives of yemeni child brides. In tribes and cities old and new, it is very much an active practice to marry daughters as young as 5 years old to men old enough to be their grandfathers. Child marriages on the rise amid yemeni conflict the. Women and girls in yemen have severely limited rights when entering or attempting to leave a marriage.
Mar 07, 2017 the government of yemen sharia legislative is blocking attempts to increase the marriege age of girls by stating that this law is unislamic. Yemeni child bride sentenced to death as man 5 times her age. This paper focuses on child marriage in the arab world because there has been a recent reporting on the prevalence of the practice in that part of the world. Nujood ali, a former child bride in yemen, demonstrates outside parliament in sana, yemen, on march 23 in support of proposed legislation banning the marriage of girls under 17. For example, in 12 of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage, the legal age of marriage is 18 or older. Girls who end up as brides at a tender age are coerced into having children while they are children themselves.
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