Yemeni girls have gone to court, rejecting ancient traditions in which they are married off to mature men at a very tender age. Followers were also found in neighboring Arab countries.

Ruslan Naloev

A little Yemeni woman named Nujud Ali became one of the most famous girls in the Muslim world this year. At the age of 10, she first became the youngest woman on the planet to officially obtain a divorce, which caused a real political scandal in her homeland - in Yemen. After which her memories formed the basis of a book that was sensational in the Arab world, and she herself received the title “Woman of the Year” according to the American magazine Glamoor.

Nujood's story is similar to the stories of many girls in her country - at the age of 9 she was married to a 30-year-old man who beat her, demanding that she fulfill her marital duties. Unable to bear it, the girl ran away and went to court, demanding a divorce. The amazed judge, having familiarized himself with the circumstances of the case, was forced to divorce the spouses - it turned out that the young wife had not yet reached puberty.

This divorce case caused a real scandal in the country. Following 10-year-old Nujood, inspired by her example, her compatriot, 9-year-old Arwa Abdu, filed for divorce. Soon, another girl, the 8-year-old wife of an adult man, obtained a divorce in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Following them, 11- and 12-year-old wives began to sue.

This series of divorce cases has split Yemeni society and caused heated debate within it. Some shame “divorce girls,” claiming that they disgraced their family. Others applaud the new generation's determination to fight for their rights. The liberal Arab press comments on the situation as follows: “Previously, young girls who were forcibly married and did not want to come to terms with their marital status simply ran away, hoping for help from friends or relatives. By doing this, they violated the tradition, which condemns running away from a spouse under any circumstances. Now they are decisively defend their rights: they go to official courts and turn to lawyers."

The Nujood scandal has forced Yemen and other Muslim countries to talk about an important issue: can outdated traditions be preserved in the modern world, even if they contradict generally accepted norms? The problem of early marriage is relevant for many countries of the Muslim East, especially for those where tribal or clan traditions are strong. And there is no doubt that scandals like the “Nujood case” will break out more and more often. After all, according to human rights organizations, in Yemen, especially in rural areas, the average age of girls getting married is 12-13 years.

In defense of their rightness, traditionalists call on religion and cite a hadith (a saying of the Prophet Muhammad), which says: happy is the father who gave his daughter in marriage before she had her first menstruation. They insist that husbands who take little girls as wives must care for them as if they were their own children until they reach puberty. They say that this is the only opportunity for poor families to save their girls from poverty or the widespread practice of kidnapping here.

Supporters of traditions in the country's parliament make angry speeches: “The West will now tell us how to get married, get pregnant and give birth! Yes, this is a new form of crusade!” And some, meanwhile, even take into account quotes not from religious texts, but refer to examples from European classics - so, they say, Shakespeare’s Juliet, as you know, was not even 14 years old. It looks unexpected: Yemeni Islamists read out to “annoying foreign journalists” the words spoken to Juliet by her mother: “Well, now think about marriage. I myself have long been a mother in those years in which you remain a maiden.”

“Yes, but that was in the Middle Ages,” retort supporters of change. “And we want to live in the 21st century.”

Meanwhile, the culprit of the scandal, Nujood, returned to school, which she stopped going to after her marriage. She admits that she loves watching cartoons and studying. He also states that he will definitely receive a good education in order to become a lawyer and defend the rights of Yemeni women. Nujud doesn’t want to think about marriage now.

Divorce at nine years old