Yemeni child bride, eight, dies of internal injuries on first night of forced marriage

YEMEN | 09-09-2013 | An eight-year-old child bride has died in  Yemen of internal bleeding sustained during her wedding night after being forced  to marry a man five times her age, activists have claimed.

The girl, identified only as Rawan, died in  the tribal area of Hardh in northwestern Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia.  Activists are now calling for the groom, who  is believed to be around 40 years old, and her family to be arrested so they can  face justice in the courts. They say arrests would help put a stop to the  practice of marrying very young girls to older men in the impoverished  region.  Child bride: The practice of marrying young girls is  widespread in Yemen and has attracted the attention of international rights  groups seeking to pressure the government to outlaw child marriages

CHILD BRIDES: A GLOBAL  ISSUE

Despite numerous  campaigns, the issue of child brides remains a  global concern. There are currently some 57.5 million child  brides across the world, 40 per cent of which married in India. Forty-six per cent of women in India were  married before the age of 18, according to the National Family Health Survey-3. Meanwhile, in Africa, 42 per cent of girls  were married before turning 18 compared to 29 per cent in Latin America and the  Caribbean. But the number of child brides is estimated  to rise to 140 million by 2020 if current trends continue, 18.5 million of which  will be under 15 years old, analysts  warn.

Statistics show that girls living in poor  households are almost twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls in higher  income households. And girls younger than 15 are also five times  more likely to die in childbirth than women in their  20s. Yemen’s gripping poverty plays a role in  hindering efforts to stamp out the  practice, as poor families find themselves  unable to say no to  ‘bride-prices’ that can be hundreds of dollars for their  daughters.

More than a quarter of Yemen’s females marry  before age 15, according to a report in 2010 by the Social Affairs  Ministry. Tribal custom also plays a role, including  the belief that a young bride can  be shaped into an obedient wife, bear more  children and be kept away  from temptation. In  September 2010, a 12-year-old Yemeni  child-bride died after struggling  for three days in labour to give birth, a  local human rights  organisation said. Yemen once set 15 as the minimum age for  marriage, but parliament annulled  that law in the 1990s, saying parents should  decide when a daughter  marries.  (MailOnline)