News Flash: Child Brides

Article from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/04/09/yemen.child.bride.death/index.html

News Flash

In a country like the United States, it is hard to imagine living in a world where ten year old girls are considered a proper age for marriage. It is hard to imagine a world where twelve-year-old girls are forced to marry and have sexual relationships with men nearly three times their age. Although such horrifying acts may occur within this country, they are isolated acts of violence, not results of recognized marriage. Such is the world for girls who live in Yemeni, a Southwest Asian country where girls as young as ten are forced to marry much older men. The situation in Yemeni came to the forefront last week, when a twelve-year old girl died from internal bleeding after having sexual intercourse with her much older husband. These occurrences, although unfortunate and equally as horrifying, contrast the rights and protection women have in the United States versus non-Western countries, such as Yemeni.

Barely a week ago, twelve-year old Elham Mahdi died three days after her marriage to a man nearly twice her age. Her death was a result of internal bleeding due to having sexual intercourse. UNICEF and Yemeni human rights groups are outraged at Mahdi’s death. Government officials remarked that her recent death is “a stark reminder that the practice of underage marriage must come to an end." Similarly in September, another twelve-year old bride and her child died due to complications during childbirth. Debates to fix a minimum age for marriage within this country are still ongoing, but with such dismal cases as these, this debate is completely necessary. It is hard to imagine why some parents would willingly agree to hand over their young daughters to men who are at least twice their age. However, if a family is suffering financially, having the opportunity to “pass” off their daughters seems like a promising deal. Some parents ask that grooms wait until the bride is older to consummate the marriage, but recent news coverage makes the grooms compliance with this plea hard to believe.

While these acts are no doubt horrifying, they certainly make me grateful for living in a country like the United States. Despite the ongoing battle for rights for women, such as abortion rights and the Equal Pay Act, thankfully pre-adolescent girls in this country do not have to worry about being married and having children at such a young age. Women in this country are granted certain rights that would prevent anything this sickening from legally happening in the United States.

If Elham Mahdi grew up in America, she would have been protected by a handful of laws that would have prevented her death. Firstly, Elham’s groom definitely would have been charged on account of rape. Undoubtedly, Elham’s consent to their sexual relationship was surely absent. Her husband would immediately have been charged with statutory rape, and a trial would be brought against him. While the issue of rape poses a universal threat to women and men in this country, I think our culture is more apt to have open dialogues about rape. Although it may not be an entirely comfortable topic to discuss, discussions about rape do exist. Several of our readings for class have dealt with the issue of rape. These personal essays function in many ways in our culture. They serve as a means of therapy for these women, allowing them to begin the healing process. The essays also cultivate awareness and make it easier to talk about rape. I think reading these personal essays brings the issue of rape to a different level. Instead of viewing it as a distant and isolated threat, these essays help us to see that rape doesn’t discriminate. As Emilie Morgan, in Listen Up says, “I have a lot more healing to do, and it’s going to take time. I am just a woman who has a story to tell, and I am learning how to make it heard.”

Our country’s open dialogue about rape is sharply contrasted with a country’s similar to Yemeni. Although it is probably widely known that hundreds of young girls are being subjected to repeated instances of rape, objections need to be voiced.

The article also briefly touches upon the lack of proper medical attention girls in Yemeni receive. A twelve-year old girl suffered the same fate as Elham, and died while giving birth. Who knows if her life could have been saved in the United States, but she surely would have had the option of an abortion. Not only is having a child at such a young age dangerous to both the mother and the baby, but I have yet to meet a twelve-year old who is capable of raising a child. The support system that many teenaged mothers rely on would probably be lacking in these instances, as some girls are married to men who have more than one wife. The families these girls came from are probably stressed on their own, even without the added stresses of a new baby. In Yemeni, women are only offered the opportunity to have an abortion solely in the case to protect her life. They do not permit abortions even in cases of rape, fetal defects, or socio economic factors. It is hard to believe that these restrictions control so much of a decision that should be a woman’s own personal and private decision. Despite the fact that there are varying restrictions on abortions in the United States, a woman can go into an abortion clinic with no questions asked and receive the procedure, given certain time constraints. Even though the right to an abortion still makes for heated discussion among politicians, it represents a certain power and control that women have over their own bodies, a power that I’m sure is limited in Yemeni.

When news of children brides reaches the United States, the stories always stir up feelings of horror and curiosity. How does the country allow girls, who should still be in school and enveloped in airs of security, to be married at such a young age? How can the country allow girls to be subjected to countless attacks of rape and not step in to prevent it? While I am not making an argument that abuse against women never happens in the United States, women here certainly are granted legal rights that attempt to protect them against such crimes. The voices of these young girls from Yemani should not be silenced any longer. Their stories need to be heard and shared in order for any sort of social change to happen.