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.
Angry Man, a blogger, posted that the man was 'an animal who deserved to be punished severely for his crime'.
'All those who supported such a crime should also be punished,' he added.
Another blogger, called Omar, wrote: 'Rawan’s family members are not humans. They do not deserve to have children.'
But
another blogger, called 'Sad', appeared more sympathetic to the custom.
He wrote: 'Her family and her groom could have waited for some time
before having this marriage,' Sad said. 'It was not fair at all and the
marriage should not have happened even if some tribes believe that it is
a good custom.'
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.
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.
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