"Death of eight-year-old Yemeni bride causes anger"
- Details
- Category: Islam
- Created: Monday, 22 July 2013 23:30
- Written by NineMSN Staff
Yemeni activists have called for action after an eight-year-old child bride died of genital tears and internal bleeding on the first night of her arranged marriage.
The groom was five times her age, Kuwaiti daily Al Watan reported on Sunday.
The death occurred in the tribal area of Hardh in north-western Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia.
Kuwaiti bloggers are now calling for the girl's family and groom to be punished, Gulf News reports.
Blogger Angry Man posted that the groom was "an animal who deserved to be punished severely for his crime".
Another blogger, Sad, posted that the marriage shouldn't have occurred, "even if some tribes believe that it is a good custom".
Activists hope the case would be used to help put an end to the practice of marrying very young girls.
In 2008, a Yemeni eight-year-old bride had her marriage annulled by a court after running away from her husband and filing for divorce.
But in 2009, a Yemeni law that set the minimum age of a bride at 17 was repealed as lawmakers deemed it un-Islamic.
In 2010, a 12-year-old died three days after her marriage from internal bleeding, and a 13-year-old died during labour.
A video released in July by human rights organisation Middle East Research Institute shows an escaped 11-year-old bride-to-be who spoke out after her family was forcing her into an arranged marriage. Source : http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/09/09/11/08/death-of-eight-year-old-bride-in-yemen
