Noujoud, 10 years, Divorced,

11.10.2008 - Caroline Bourgeret / Wissam Charaf - ARTE GEIE / Median – France 2008 (23min)

Nojoud dreams of being a sea-turtle, because she has never seen the sea. She adores playing hide-n-seek. She loves chocolate and coconut cakes. In summary, a child like any other...

However, the mischievous look of this small Yemeni has traveled around the world, At the age of 10, she received her divorce. A first in a country where more than 52% of young girls are married before reaching adulthood.

Her father, Ahdal, is unemployed. He has two wives and sixteen children. He said he wanted to prevent her from ending up like her two other sisters. The first was kidnapped by a rival clan, the second was imprisoned for defending herself against an aggression. So, him and his wife, decided that marrying her to a man 22 years older than her, who would take care of her, was the right solution. That also meant one less mouth to feed...

In Yemen, the marriage of children is legal, but the husbands are to wait until the young girls reach puberty, before completing their union. A rule seldom respected. Raped at 8 years old, Nojoud ended up fleeing and taking refuge in a court. She filed for divorce, and she got it. She is happy to return to school, and is working hard to become a lawyer. Her lawyer, Chada Nasser, hopes that her case will set a precedent and pave the way for other procedures of this kind.

The case of Nojoud represents a first step, but it probably will not revolutionize the situation. The request to modify the law made by many NGO’s following this affair were just refused by the government. And for the moment, tens of under-aged girls continue to be offered to men forcibly.