STOLEN LIFE “Elham Mahdi al Assi was a young girl with great plans for her future. Those plans came to a cruel end when she married a man who would later become her murderer. One day after her marriage, Elham was taken to hospital due to excessive bleeding. The doctor who examined her saw that her internal canal was ripped and asked for her to be admitted. Her husband refused to adhere to the doctor’s advice and insisted in taking his wife home. Two days later he brought a motionless Elham back to the doctor in an emergency. Shortly thereafter, the doctor pronounced her dead from severe hemorrhaging resulting from the rupture of internal organs caused from intimacy with her husband… Elham Mahdi Al Assi was 12 years old at the time she was married off and 12 when she died.” “Fawziya Ammodi was a beautiful young girl, whose life came to a torturous end when she was forced into marriage with an elderly man. She became with child almost immediately and bore the complications pregnancy put on her very small frame. During childbirth, Fawziya went into brutal labor and suffered for three days straight. Together with her baby, she died of severe bleeding and shock. Fawziya was 11 when she was given out in marriage and 12 years old when she died.” “Nujood Ali was a girl with the ambition of one day becoming a doctor. Her dreams were halted abruptly and her troubles started when she was taken out of school and married off to a man over twice her age. Her husband beat and raped her continuously, but a determination within her prompted her to escape to a court house, where she demanded for the judge to give her an annulment. Najood was 10 when she was married off and 10 years old when she said “NO” and survived.” The case of angels like Elham, Fawziya and Nujood are a stark reminder of the increased risks placed on young girls who are married off too early and are clear examples of the justification for limits and enforcement of such limits on the age of marriage.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 13:30:43 +0000