Nujood’s father asked the husband not to touch her until a year after she had had her first menstrual period. But as soon as they were married, she writes, her husband forced himself on her. He soon began to beat her as well, the memoir says, and her new mother-in-law offered no sympathy. “Hit her even harder,” the mother-in-law would tell her son. Nujood had heard that judges could grant divorces, so one day she sneaked away, jumped into a taxi and asked to go to the courthouse. “I want to talk to the judge,” the book quotes Nujood as forlornly telling a woman in the courthouse. “Which judge are you looking for?” “I just want to speak to a judge, that’s all.” “But there are lots of judges in this courthouse.” “Take me to a judge — it doesn’t matter which one!” When she finally encountered a judge, Nujood declared firmly: “I want a divorce!” - NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF for NYT nytimes/2010/03/04/opinion/04kristof.html?_r=0 Nujood Alis childhood came to an abrupt end in 2008 when her father arranged for her to be married to a man three times her age. With harrowing directness, Nujood tells of abuse at her husbands hands and of her daring escape. With the help of local advocates and the press, Nujood obtained her freedom—an extraordinary achievement in Yemen, where almost half of all girls are married under the legal age. Nujoods courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has inspired other young girls in the Middle East to challenge their marriages. Hers is an unforgettable story of tragedy, triumph, and courage. towardthestars/Product-I_Am_Nujood__Age_10_and_Divorced-3989.html
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 17:00:01 +0000
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