In total, the ndc issued nearly 1,800 recommendations on a wide range of issues, with the. Similarly, marriage to an outsider encourages the renunciation of claims to land that is too far away to farm. Yemen is among the 20 hot spot countries for child marriage. A national demographic and health survey in 20 found that nearly 32 per cent of girls in yemen were married before the age of 18, including 9. Culture of yemen history, people, clothing, traditions. The three girls stories have been an issue of debate in social sessions, conferences and the media. Yemen update bulletin of the american institute for yemeni studies 39. According to a unicef study from september 2016,in six governorates, early marriage was alarmingly widespread 18. Similar factors contributed to polygamy, which was less prevalent in yemen than is commonly thought. Yemen is one of the poorest, leastdeveloped countries in the arab world and shegar presumably exists as a way out of paying marriage dowries. Traditionally, poor families have married off underage girls in exchange for money, a practice that is not only unethical. When compared to a country with a similar population such as. Bbc news middle east child marriage and divorce in yemen. Child marriages have been common all over the world.
Some 72 percent of women said they were married by the time they. The wedding will last for at least three days on friday, the free day of the week in yemen. The government of yemen sharia legislative is blocking attempts to increase the marriege age of girls by stating that this law is unislamic. The problem, says safa, is that early marriage, driven by patriarchal tradition and poverty, is justified as a solution for families, denying these young girls their rights to life and choice. This story is created by children who try to advocate for increasing the marriage age in yemen through. This film describes a story of a yemeni girl who was a victim of early marriage in yemen. The institution of marriage is nearly universal in yemen for men. The organization conducted a survey in six provinces in september. And although there seems to be a positive trend over generations, yemen still has the highest rate of early marriage in western asia and.
In malawi, for instance, nearly two thirds of women with no formal education were child brides compared to 5 per cent of women who attended secondary school or. Yemen, there are sanctions only for women if there is some king kind of sexual abuse or if women try to escape the marriage or if women dont act as they are supposed to, likeaccording to how the national normative says they must. The three journalists involved with the article were convicted by. Nojood, 10, arwa, 9, and reem, are three girls who went through traumatizing ordeals after being forced into marriage by their families. Child marriage on the rise as conflict in yemen continues. In early april, a yearold girl in yemen bled to death after being forced to have intercourse with her 23yearold husband. Child marriage in yemen as yemen transitions politically and restructures its constitution, the number one priority should be to protect its citizensparticularly yemeni girls who are too often subject to child marriage. Thus, underage girls were often betrothed in order to ensure them a good match, or, if they were orphans, to save them from forced conversion to islam. The scourge of gender inequality, underage marriage in yemen pune in recent times, women have fought through gigantic obstacles to be treated as equals alongside men. After a faction of radical marxists took over in 1970, south yemen became the peoples democratic republic of yemen and was propped up by a host of communist backers, the soviet union chief among them. Child marriage has long been a scourge in yemen, one of the few countries in the region without a legal minimum age of marriage. Child marriages increasing as war in yemen continues. Yemeni girls and women are being forced into child marriages by their families, and have little chance.
Yemen signed the crc in 1990 and ratified it in 1991 without reservations. Most girls marry before they reach 18, and in rural areas, some marry as young as eight. Although the government of yemen has made efforts that will improve the rights of women in yemen including the formation of a womens development strategy and a women health development strategy, many cultural and religious norms, along with poor enforcement of this. The 409page report, which mentions yemen 58 times, says the situation has left women with less protection and fewer avenues to redress for sexual and other violence, including female. Yemeni child bride sentenced to death as man 5 times her age. As has been seen recently in the case of syrian refugees, yemeni girls are being forced into child marriages at an increased rate due to the instability brought on by war. Project muse marriage and divorce customs in yemen and. Yemen swap marriages a tradition that makes and breaks. Early marriage, according to the child rights convention, is a marriage that takes place before the bride or groom reach the age of 18. Jenny cuffe, child marriage and divorce in yemen, bbc news, available at. Yemens civil society and government organizations, with the support of international development agencies, are working hard to combat early marriage. What drives child marriage in the arab world and how the.
Hooria mashhour, yemens minister of human rights, is now urging the government to pass new laws that will raise the minimum age of marriage to 18. More than twothirds of yemeni girls are married off before they reach 18. Combat, or marriage a camp of displaced yemenis in the western village of khamer. Economic and social factors also influenced marriage practices in yemen. Yemens next government should set minimum age at 18 beirut, december 8, 2011 widespread child marriage jeopardizes yemeni girls access to education, harms their health, and keeps them. Yemen ratified the convention on the rights of the child in 1991, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women cedaw in 1984, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.
Women in yemen have historically been placed at a disadvantage due to their sex, with a highly patriarchal society. Yemens human rights minister has vowed to ban child marriage after the reported death of an eightyearold girl on her wedding night huriya mashhoor said. Ending child, early and forced marriage in yemen equitas. The quest for a minimum marriage age in yemen, 20092014. In 2004, the yemem times, an englishlanguage magazine, was allowed to publish an opinion piece opposing legal recognition of gay marriage. The british protectorate endured until 1967 when it was pressured out following five years of violent insurgency. For a correctly transcribed text, please download the pdf version of this report. Iran has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5. Dating and marriage practices in yemen dating tips. In 2003, the week, an arabiclanguage magazine, published an article that included interviews with yemeni men imprisoned for homosexuality.
Although yemen has been much less influenced by american or european ideas than other arab cultures, some outside influence does creep in through the internet and through yemeni communities in other countries. For a father in yemen, marriage is a way to protect his daughter from being raped in the street and losing her honor or from going hungry in her own home. If a woman has to divorce a man in yemen she has to provide reasons, and she can only have one husband. A 2005 study on child marriage in yemen explained that there are four principle factors that place girls at risk of child marriage in yemen and in similar countries where child marriage is common. On wednesday afternoon the marriage contract is signed and concluded in the brides house. In yemen, women often do not renounce their claims of ownership. Yemen acceded to the iccpr and icescr in 1987 with a general declaration pertaining to nonrecognition of the state of israel. Pages in category child marriage in yemen the following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. From yemen where there is currently no minimum age for marriage, to libya where the minimum age is 20, early marriage is a varying problem in the middle east and north africa mena. Tragedy shines light on lives of yemeni child brides.
Iran ratified the convention on the rights of the child in 1994, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, but made reservation to articles and provisions which may be contrary to the islamic sharia law. Child marriage in yemen history media on child marriage firsthand accounts maps of where child marriage is happening action plan to help stop child marriage universal declaration of human rights udhr bibliography child marriage is common in many parts of the world and is not exclusive to any particular religion or. Child marriage and divorce in yemen by jenny cuffe bbc world service, assignment a narrow path leads up from the mountain town of jibla, through centuryold houses, and turns into a mud track before reaching the door of arwas home. In 1999, yemens parliament, citing religious grounds, abolished the legal minimum age for marriage for girls and boys, which was. Parliamentary committee strikes down age of marriage amendment. A withdrawal or a severe loss of face by the family in question. In yemen, conservative social values and poverty force girls to marry and become young mothers before the age of 18, said ouis. Child marriages on the rise amid yemeni conflict the. Yemen also acceded to the convention on consent to marriage, minimum age for marriage and registration of marriages in 1987. Yemen has backtracked on protecting girls from forced marriage. Ms wordlike content editing experience thanks to a rich set of formatting tools, dropdowns, dialogs, system modules and builtin spellcheck.
Thus the ideal marriage between patrilateral cousins would ensure that land remains within the patrilineage. Womens movements and civil society in yemen along with 61 parliament members have advocated a law that legislates a minimum marriage age of 18 for both males and females. While there is little information on the prevalence of child marriage in yemen, unicef estimates that 32% of girls are married before the age of 18. April 2011 in yemen, one in three women ages 20 to 24 report that they were married before their 18th birthday.
More than 40% of marriages in yemens poorest areas are celebrated with girls younger than 15. Yemen is one of only two countries in the world that as no legislation on the minimum age for marriage. Safe age of marriage in yemen pathfinder international. Immigrantcommunitiesintheunitedstatesseptember20115.