no words, except that it is happening right now

Child Bride, 12, Dies While Giving Birth

A 12-year-old child bride has died after struggling to give birth to a baby for three days, a human rights organisation in Yemen has said.

Fawziya Abdullah Youssef suffered severe bleeding while giving birth to a stillborn infant in Hodeida province, 140 miles (223km) west of the capital San'a, on Friday.

She was only 11 when her father married her to a 24-year-old man who works as a farmer in Saudi Arabia, according to Ahmed al Quraishi from the Siyaj organisation, which promotes the rights of children in Yemen.

He said he stumbled upon Fawziya in the al Zahra district hospital while investigating cases of youngsters who had fled from fighting in the north of the country.

"This is one of many cases that exist in Yemen," Mr al Quraishi said.

"The reason behind it is the lack of education and awareness, forcing many girls into marriage in this very early age.".......

via

sick making

and i NEVER want to lose my right to say, ANY country, ANY religion, ANY person who allows a 47 year old man to marry an 8 year old girl IS FUCKED UP

Saudi judge refuses to annul 8-year-old's marriage
By Mohammed Jamjoom
CNN

(CNN) -- A Saudi judge has refused for a second time to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man, a relative of the girl told CNN.

The most recent ruling, in which the judge upheld his original verdict, was handed down Saturday in the Saudi city of Onaiza, where late last year the same judge rejected a petition from the girl's mother, who was seeking a divorce for her daughter.

The relative said the judge, Sheikh Habib Al-Habib, "stuck by his earlier verdict and insisted that the girl could petition the court for a divorce once she reached puberty." The family member, who requested anonymity, added that the mother will continue to pursue a divorce for her daughter.

The case, which has drawn criticism from local and international rights groups, came to light in December when al-Habib declined to annul the marriage on a legal technicality. The judge ruled the girl's mother -- who is separated from the girl's father -- was not the girl's legal guardian and therefore could not represent her in court, according to Abdullah al-Jutaili, the mother's lawyer.

The girl's father, according to the attorney, arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, who is "a close friend" of his. At the time of the initial verdict, the judge required the girl's husband to sign a pledge that he would not have sex with her until she reaches puberty, al-Jutaili told CNN. The judge ruled that when the girl reaches puberty, she will have the right to request a divorce by filing a petition with the court, the lawyer said............

not arrested (yet)

but 'detained'. also appears much of the country is in an uproar about this pedophile (and they ARE recognizing him as just that a pedophile). not only did he marry a 12 year old, he ALSO HAD PLANS TO MARRY A 7 YEAR OLD AND A 9 YEAR OLD. i know what i'd do to him

Indonesia cleric detained for marrying 12-year-old
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A Muslim cleric whose marriage to a 12-year-old girl triggered controversy in Indonesia has been detained along with the girl's father on suspicion of violating the child protection law, police said Wednesday.

Cleric Pujiono Cahyo Widianto, 43, wed the girl before thousands of people in Central Java province last August, arguing that he had committed no crime because he intended to wait until she reached puberty before consummating their relationship.

Police Detective Roy Siahaan said the cleric, who runs an Islamic boarding school and several businesses, was officially named a criminal suspect Tuesday following several days of questioning. He has not been charged but is in police detention.

On Wednesday, the girl's father, 36-year-old Suroso, also was detained and named a suspect for giving away the bride. Both Suroso, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, and Widianto could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of violating the country's child protection law, which forbids marriage to anyone under 18 years old.

The cleric's wedding and proclamations that he intended to also marry two other girls aged 7 and 9 angered many in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation with more than 210 million believers. Complaints came from Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basuni, child rights groups and the Indonesia Ulemma Council — the country's top Islamic body............

you (the authorities) say nearly 2/3 of the children

of this sect were abused YET YOU RETURNED ALMOST EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM? you say 12 girls who are between the ages of 12 and 15 were married (to OLDER MEN of course) and 7 of them gave birth to babies? this sect (i must add, along with many 'mainstream' religions and beliefs)believes women are practically meaningless. they're used to sew and cook and clean and pop out young 'uns (the girl children to be married off to geezers of course). wtf? why did you return the children? why? just because someone f**king bears a child or is the biological father of a child DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE A PARENT

Texas report: Abuse widespread in polygamist sect
By MICHELLE ROBERTS

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Nearly two-thirds of the families living at a polygamist group's ranch — targeted in a high-profile raid last spring — had children who were abused or neglected, Texas child welfare officials said in a report released Tuesday.

The Department of Family and Protective Services concluded there was evidence that 12 girls, ages 12 to 15, were "spiritually" married to adult men in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which runs the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Seven of them had one or more children, the report says.

Another 262 children were listed as neglected because the agency said their parents knew there was sexual abuse in the household but did not move to protect their children from possible abuse.

The report, which summarizes the investigations done on all 439 children at the West Texas ranch, was issued at the request of the Health and Human Services executive commissioner, a gubernatorial appointee who oversees the protective services agency.

"We received what we believed was a bona fide abuse/neglect report. We were required by law to investigate," said DFPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins.

The report, an unusual step taken to help satisfy expected questions from the state Legislature when it convenes in January, summarized individual investigations and the history of the case. The findings, though shared with law enforcement, are separate from the ongoing criminal cases..........

need money?

sell your 8 year old daughter to a 58 year old man. that's legal in the country (or countries) of some of our VERY BFFs!!!

even when a mother tries to save her daughter, it can't happen because WOMEN HAVE NO EFFING RIGHTS

Saudi court rejects divorce plea from EIGHT-year-old girl married to 58-year-old man
By Mail Foreign Service

A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty.

The divorce plea was filed in August by the girl's divorced mother with a court at Unayzah, 135 miles north of Riyadh just after the marriage contract was signed by the father and the groom.

Lawyer Abdullar Jtili said:"The judge has dismissed the plea, filed by the mother, because she does not have the right to file such a case, and ordered that the plea should be filed by the girl herself when she reaches puberty.".........

this shouldn't have happened to anyone

(forced marriage, beatings, rape) much less A TEN YEAR OLD

for her courage and bravery i salute Nujood Ali (and her lawyer shada nasser as well).

man, look at how beautiful those two are!

10-year-old girl's inspiring story opens eyes at Glamour awards

BY SEAN EVANS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The most talked about honoree of the 2008 Glamour Women of the Year awards was a small child of 10. Nujood Ali, who flew all the way from her native Yemen for the ritzy Carnegie Hall gala, was married off by impoverished parents to a 30-year-old man who raped and abused her.

Her father, who drew an annual salary equivalent to $900, had 18 children and couldn't afford to clothe and feed Ali so he gave her up for marriage. Though her older husband promised to wait years before becoming intimate with his child bride, he beat her and raped her on their wedding night. Ali had enough.............

Two Voices against Child Marriage and for Education

Nujood Ali, a 10-year girl old from Yemen who courageously escaped from and filed for divorce from a forced marriage, and her lawyer, Shada Nasser, addressed an audience at UNIFEM headquarters today. Both are to receive a Woman of the Year Award from Glamour magazine.

Nujood Ali was married off to a man in his 30s when she was only nine years old. Many little girls in her native Yemen and around the world suffer this kind of fate — but Nujood wouldn't stand for it. After suffering repeated beatings and rape from her husband, she ran away and went directly to the courthouse, asking for a lawyer who could help her. Human rights lawyer and feminist Shada Nasser took on her case free of charge and made history this April by winning Nujood a divorce from her husband, sending a message to the rest of Yemen that marrying girls at such premature ages would not be tolerated. Nujood, now 10, is back at her family's home on the outskirts of Sana'a and has said: "All I want to do now is finish my education. I want to be a lawyer."

Most experts say education is crucial in eradicating the cultural practice of child marriage. The Girls World Communication Center (GWCC) was founded by volunteers in 1998 to help promote female schooling in Yemen, where 65 percent of women are illiterate. ........

picture: DeCrow/AP

Nujood Ali, a 10-year old Yemeni girl, and her lawyer Shada Nasser leave the stage after being honored at the Glamour Women of the Year awards.