I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

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I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui

This has been on my wishlist for a couple of years now, but inexplicably, none of the local libraries bought a copy until recently.  I found it on the New Books shelf at work yesterday and promptly took it home.

Nujood Ali was an ordinary little girl living with her poverty-stricken Yemeni family until she became the victim of a common crime--her father sold her, at age 10, as a bride to an acquaintance in his 30s.  The next several months were a nightmare, but Nujood waited for her chance, gathered up her courage, and went to the city courthouse where she had heard someone could help her.  She told the judge she wanted a divorce, and so set off a media storm that helped other girls come forward to ask for divorces.

Child brides are not at all uncommon in Yemen. The age of consent was 15 until a couple of years ago, and even so, about half of Yemeni brides were underage.  No young girl had ever come forward and asked for a divorce before, and the legal system had pretty much ignored the whole thing. 

This is not an easy story to read, and although it's told by a young girl, it's not a children's book.  Go ahead and read it if at all possible!

Comments

  1. Lindsey SparksMay 16, 2012 at 10:22 AM

    I read this book last year, and it was so heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. I can't imagine going through that type of thing at any age, much less at 9. It amazes me that things like this still happen in our world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LibbyMay 17, 2012 at 4:37 AM

    I read the articles about this at the time. Poor little girl. And at the same time - what a smart, brave little girl! Is there anything that we can do to help them?

    ReplyDelete

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