11-Year-Old Runaway Bride Video: True Or Not? These People Say It's Not
An 11 year-old Yemeni girl whose family attempted to force her into an arranged marriage, ran away from her home. Scroll down to the second Segment to watch her speak her mind about things that matters to her and what she wants from life.
By Sadho Ram — 22 Jul 2013, 01:52 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
UPDATE: Viral video of Yemeni child marriage called into question
The story of Nada al-Ahdal, an 11-year-old Yemeni girl whose video about her alleged arranged marriage went viral, is being called into question.
aljazeera.com
Two human rights groups involved in the case, Seyaj and the Yemeni Women Union (YWU), say parts of Nada’s account are false, including the claim that her parents planned to marry her off.
aljazeera.com
The person who recorded and uploaded the original video of Nada is Ziad Abdul-Jabbar. He works on a children's show called Nujoom al-Madina, which regularly features Nada. Abdul-Jabbar maintains that Nada's original account is true.
aljazeera.com
Nada al-Ahdal was only saved from the forced engagement after her uncle refused to let her get married
Nada al-Ahdal was only saved from the forced engagement after her uncle refused to let her get married
Image via dailymail.co.ukThe video finishes with her telling her family: I'm done with you, you ruined my dreams'
The video finishes with her telling her family: I'm done with you, you ruined my dreams'
Image via dailymail.co.ukREAD: This courageous 11-year-old runs from home to escape marriage, profoundly proclaims: “I’m not an item for sale.”
AN 11-year-old Yemeni girl who escaped her parents and an arranged marriage has taken to the internet to declare: "I'm not an item for sale."
malaysiandigest.com
In an eloquent monologue posted on YouTube, Nada Al-Ahdals says she fled to her uncle's house when her parents attempted to force her into marrying an older man for money.
news.com.au
"I would have had no life, no education," she says in the video, dated July 8. "Don't they have any compassion?" "I'm better off dead. I'd rather die."
heraldsun.com.au
“I want to continue my education and live my life. I have many dreams, I don’t want to be married now. My mother hates me, she just wants me to get married because she will get money from the man."
nationalyemen.comNada Al-Ahdal says she fled to her uncle's house, and that people close to her have threatened to kill her if she does not get married. Arranged marriages at a young age are common in that region.
businessinsider.com
A common response, says Ahdal, is for those kids to commit suicide. "It's not [the kids'] fault. I'm not the only one. It can happen to any child."
malaysiandigest.com"Some children decided to throw themselves into the sea, they're dead now. They have killed our dreams, they have killed everything inside us. There's nothing left. There is no upbringing. This is criminal, this is simply criminal."
businessinsider.com
Child marriages in Yemen
Yemeni law holds that girls of any age are allowed to wed, and because of that, 52 percent of girls in Yemen are wed before the age of 18. However, the law also states that intercourse is prohibited until the child has reached puberty, a law that is ignored by many.
Child marriages is not just a cultural practice that is discriminatory against women, it is also a contributing factor to Yemen’s high population. According to the UN, 75% of Yemen’s population is under the age of 30 making it the 2nd youngest population in the world.