Ask Me Help Desk - Eight-year-old wife wins divorce

excon,

You have a point. But most times we don't see the faces of those victims, this time we do. She's 8 years old, I have a 9 year old son and a 5 year old daughter, the idea that my little girl could be married off in 3 years and forced to have sex is unthinkable. Thank goodness I don't practice a religion or live in a country that condones this.

I'm not surprised really, but I'm still shocked. Will things ever change completely? Probably not, but one can hope.

I respect you FB and your devotion to your faith, but to explain this away as a cultural norm with justifications from your prophet's history just escapes me.

This girl isn't pubescent - she is EIGHT years old. This man didn't consummate a marriage - he raped a child.

I think you demonstrated a fundamental reason why the Western World and the Middle Eastern cultures don't get along. We just don't see things the same way. Women (most) in the West read this story and are outraged. We don't understand how a society can condone the abuse of a child. There is no doubt the West has it's own share of abusers, most recently the polygamist camp in Texas, but once there is evidence of abuse, action is taken.

I would have liked to see you outraged at this story, FB, rather than reminding us that it isn't against the law in Yemen and that the father couldn't properly protect his child and that your own prophet married young. These sound like excuses.

I truly believe that until the women in that region of the world stand collectively together and say "NO MORE!" they will continue to be abused and bartered and taught that they are subservient will be directed what they can and cannot do. Until the women are considered intellectual and social equals there will be no end to stories like this.

The crime done to this little girl was the violation of her body and psyche. The crime done to the women of Yemen is the collective shrug of the men that said "Well, he didn't beat her."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emland

I truly believe that until the women in that region of the world stand collectively together and say "NO MORE!" they will continue to be abused and bartered and taught that they are subservient will be directed what they can and cannot do. Until the women are considered intellectual and social equals there will be no end to stories like this.

The crime done to this little girl was the violation of her body and psyche. The crime done to the women of Yemen is the collective shrug of the men that said "Well, he didn't beat her."

It's all well and good to say that the women need to stand together and fight back. But HOW exactly do you suggest they do that? If a woman is born into a culture where she is, from birth, taught to be subservient, given a more limited education than the men around her, and in many cases, in the belief that if she stands up for herself she could be endangered, what exactly can she hope to achieve?
Until both men and women in these countries begin to believe in equality, it won't happen. A big part of the problem is that even the women often do not see their circumstances as unfair, because they simply have no basis for comparison. They see themselves as the norm.
And of course the man's statement that he did not beat her seemed reasonable to him. Having sex with his wife was perfectly legal, from his point of view he had done nothing wrong. That doesn't make it right, but it's an ingrained cultural perspective.

But how can a man, regardless of culture and religion, find an 8 year old sexually appetizing?

For the first time in Yemen - 8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court - front - Yemen Times
You might like to read the real story from the Yemen Times... the real situation is far worse than the OP link.

Terrible situation at her parents... but the marriage was allowed regardless of her age, how did that happen?

Parliament refuses to legislate minimum age for marriage - Yemen Times
Yemeni laws discriminate against women - Yemen Times

An insight into the laws of Yemen.

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So this marriage of young girls is relegated to Yemen only?

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

But how can a man, regardless of culture and religion, find an 8 year old sexually appetizing?

A man that is sick and twisted in any way possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

So this marriage of young girls is relegated to Yemen only?

As far as I know rural Indian communities still practice underage marriages.

Possibly Pakistan and Afghanistan too has similar practices,in view of their poverty and state of affairs regarding honour killings etc.
African communities too seem to have underage marriages practiced.I am not sure of the statistical data of it,will have to search a bit more for that.

I found the following articles interesting.
http://www.womensenews.org/article.c...ontext/archive

http://www.newint.org/issue337/facts.htm

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Gl...To_Refuse.html