Eight-year-old bride suffered internal injuries, bleeding, after marriage to 40-year-old man in Yemen. Forcing Yemeni girls into arranged we...
Eight-year-old bride suffered internal injuries, bleeding, after marriage to 40-year-old man in Yemen. Forcing Yemeni girls into arranged weddings has long, troubled history. Women in Yemen demonstrate in 2010, supporting a law banning marriage for girls under age 17. The legislation, designed to address a longstanding practice of forcing girls into arranged weddings, was ultimately repealed. A young girl in Yemen died after having sexual relations with a 40-year-old man who became her husband in an arranged marriage, according to media reports. The 8-year-old was identified as “Rawan” and died from torn genitals and severe bleeding in the northwest city of Hardh, Gulf News reported, citing Yemen media accounts. RELATED: 1 IN 4 ASIAN MEN HAVE RAPED A WOMAN: SURVEY The child lived in a tribal area that borders Saudi Arabia. Human rights organizations have called for the arrest of the husband, the news site Al Bawaba said. Yemen has often been criticized for allowing girls to be forced into arranged marriages. Human Rights Watch reports that 14% of girls in Yemen are married before age 15, with 82% married before they are 18. The country passed a law in 2009 setting the minimum age for marriage at 17. It was later repealed after conservative lawmakers said it went against Islamic teachings. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/child-bride-dies-wedding-night-yemen-article-1.1450874#ixzz2uzdtX6St Comments: Gulf News' denial is rejected by the Journalist concerned. Mohammad Radman, the freelance journalist from the Yemeni province who broke the story, insists the girl's neighbors told him she was "dead and buried." "They are willing to give their testimony on this issue," he told Gulf News, adding: "I think the officials are trying to bury the story." Moreover, two Meedi residents contacted by Reuters confirmed the incident and said tribal chiefs had tried to cover up the incident when the news broke, warning a local journalist against covering the story. 8-year-old Yemeni child dies at hands of 40-year-old husband on wedding night. Al Nahar, Lebanon, has reported that an eight year old child bride died in Yemen on her wedding night after suffering internal injuries due to sexual trauma. Human rights organizations are calling for the arrest of her husband who was five times her age. The death occurred in the tribal area of Hardh in northwestern Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia. This brings even more attention to the already existing issue of forced child marriages in the Middle Eastern region. It is reported that over a quarter of Yemen's young girls are married before the age of 15. Not only do they lose access to health and education, these child brides are commonly subjected to physical, emotional and sexual violence in their forced marriage. One of the main issues is that there is currently no consistent established definition of a "child" that has been agreed upon worldwide. This leaves various interpretations within countries and little protection for those who are affected. [/*][/list][/list] Less
