This rise in child marriages in yemen is a visible indicator of the conflicts. 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. 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. Introduction child marriage refers to any marriage of a child younger than eighteen years old, in accordance to article 1 of the convention of the right of the child. There is no custom equivalent to dating or courtship in traditional yemeni society, and young men and women are not allowed to have any social contact with each other under most circumstances, notes the international encyclopedia of adolescence. Yemen is one of only two countries in the world that as no legislation on the minimum age for marriage. Even in countries where child marriage is less common, the same gender differences are found. Child marriage has long been a scourge in yemen, one of the few countries in the region without a legal minimum age of marriage.
Research the impact of conflict on child marriage in. In niger, for instance, 77 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 in contrast to 5 per cent of men in the same age group. Yemen takes a step toward law ending child marriage the. 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. These men are married but want a very young second wife.
The organization conducted a survey in six provinces in september. 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. Arwa is making history by requesting a divorce aged just nine. Poor households with no income are giving their young daughters away in marriage to make ends meet. Still calling for end to child marriages in yemen published december 11th, 2011 04. Immigrantcommunitiesintheunitedstatesseptember20115. And although there seems to be a positive trend over generations, yemen still has the highest rate of early marriage in western asia and is considered one of the top 20 hot spots for child marriage. Yemen is one of the few countries in the region now without any legal minimum age for marriage.
Why yemen wont ban child marriage and rape duration. Yemen has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world. Yemen set a minimum age of 18 for marriage in a new constitution. Yemen acceded to the iccpr and icescr in 1987 with a general declaration pertaining to nonrecognition of the state of israel. Yemen signed the crc in 1990 and ratified it in 1991 without reservations. The population reference bureau is a nonprofit organization that exists to provide information to the international community about. More than 40% of marriages in yemens poorest areas are celebrated with girls younger than 15. The british protectorate endured until 1967 when it was pressured out following five years of violent insurgency.
In yemen, women protest delay on child marriage ban. The government of yemen sharia legislative is blocking attempts to increase the marriege. Rights group urges yemen to ban child marriage cbs news. Child marriage on the rise as conflict in yemen continues. Tragedy shines light on lives of yemeni child brides. Dating and marriage practices in yemen dating tips. Child marriages on the rise amid yemeni conflict the.
Combat, or marriage a camp of displaced yemenis in the western village of khamer. Child marriage in yemen, documents the lifelong damage to girls who are forced to marry young. Women in yemen have historically been placed at a disadvantage due to their sex, with a highly patriarchal society. Child marriages have been common all over the world. 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. An evaluability assessment is an exercise to determine the overall readiness of the programme to be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion and check the coherence and logic of the programme. Yemeni child bride sentenced to death as man 5 times her age. Several international human rights agreements protect children from child marriage, including the universal declaration of human rights 1948, the convention of eradication of all forms of discrimination against women 1979, the convention on the rights of the child 1989, and the african charter on the rights. Pages in category child marriage in yemen the following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. More than twothirds of yemeni girls are married off before they reach 18. Although child marriage continues to plague rural areas in yemen, officials either deny or promise to establish a new law to define a minimum age of marriage in the country. Yemeni womens rights groups agree that child marriage is rampant in every part of yemeni.
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. Early marriage has become alarmingly widespread in warstruck yemen, unicef said in march, as cited by ap. In terms of scholarship and international attention, the region is often overshadowed by the child marriage hotspots of subsaharan africa and southeast asia. Girls stand in almazraq refugee camp near the northwestern yemeni province of saada, nov. 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. Child marriage in the middle east and north africa. Yemens war on child marriages by sara solberg this past month, international attention has been drawn to rawan, an eight year old yemeni girl who had been given in marriage to a man in his forties, and died of internal bleeding only a few days after their wedding night. Sanaa yemen should protect its girls from the devastating effects of early marriage by setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage by law, human rights watch. 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. Yemen country brief unicef regional study on child marriage. Child marriage is most common in aljawf and albaidha governorates. Child marriage in the middle east and north africa international. Child marriage and rape is still legal in yemen 20 duration.
This rise in child marriages in yemen is a visible indicator of the conflicts disproportionate impact on children. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation. The overall rate of child marriage in the middle east and north africa mena region has. Worth, wrote a feature about child marriage in yemen, quoting a study by sana university that said that the average age of marriage in yemens rural areas is 12 to, and that the country, at the southern corner of the arabian peninsula, has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. In 2009, a law set the minimum age for marriage of 17 years. In a humanitarian crisis caused by the war, children are bearing much. Yemenis do not usually choose their own marriage partners.
According to a unicef study from september 2016,in six governorates, early marriage was alarmingly widespread 18. More than 50% of the yemeni girls are married before 18, in which some of them are married by 8 years old. Unfpaunicef global programme to accelerate action to end child marriage. Percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before ages. Request pdf on dec 14, 20, abdulhadi a alamodi and others published child marriage in yemen find, read and cite all the research you need on.
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. Although the united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women says the following regarding the right to protection from child marriage. Economic and social factors also influenced marriage practices in. Bbc news middle east child marriage and divorce in yemen. The law there makes it seem like child marriage is okay because there is basically no law on child marriage. 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 she would press parliament for the.
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. Project muse marriage and divorce customs in yemen and. The only two countries in the middle east without minimum age requirements for marriage are considering laws establishing a minimum age to protect women. Still calling for end to child marriages in yemen al bawaba. But then the war began and the houthis did not ratify the document. Child marriage is a global epidemic, one that affects tens of millions of girls worldwide. April 2011 in yemen, one in three women ages 20 to 24 report that they were married before their 18th birthday. Unfpaunicef global programme to accelerate action to. While many children in yemen suffer from poverty, malnutrition, and high rates of illiteracy, child marriage exposes many more to devastating. Tragedy shines light on lives of yemeni child brides as yemen becomes increasingly overpopulated and impoverished, many families see marrying off their young daughters and receiving dowries as a. Ending child, early and forced marriage in yemen equitas. These customs included the marriage of minor girls, levirate marriage yibum, polygamy, divorce against the wifes will, and compelling a husband to divorce a wife who could not bear to live with him. The government of yemen sharia legislative is blocking attempts to increase the marriege age of girls by stating that this law is unislamic.
In yemen, women protest delay on child marriage ban hundreds of women protested today in yemen, urging the government to pass. Her story is typical of many girls and young women in the yemen. Traditionally, poor families have married off underage girls in exchange for money, a practice that is not only unethical. The parents can do whatever they wish to their children and nobody can get in any trouble. Child marriage in ethiopias amhara region hd duration. Sanaa, april, 27, 2014 the yemeni government should expedite passage of a draft child rights law establishing 18 as yemen s minimum marriage age. The issue of yemens child brides received widespread attention four years ago, when an 8yearold girl boldly went by herself to a courtroom and demanded a judge dissolve her marriage to a man in. Yemeni child bride sentenced to death as man 5 times her age brutally consummates marriage on the first night. Child marriages increasing as war in yemen continues. But what can be done to spare future generations the same fate. Jenny cuffe, child marriage and divorce in yemen, bbc news, available at. Some 72 percent of women said they were married by the time they were 18, and 44 percent were married by age 15.