Via Feministing.
Quick summary of the story:
An eight year old girl went to court to sue her father after he forced her to marry a 30 year old man. According to the article, Yemeni law allows parents to make contracts for their children's marriages before the age of 15, but the husband is supposed to wait until the girl is "mature." Obviously, it can be a matter of opinion what ready or mature is, but eight is ridiculous and the courts agreed and removed her from her family. The officials said they were "planning to put her in Dar Al-Rahama [an non-governmental organization that works with children], where she can have a better life and education."
The actual background is, of course, completely depressing. However, it is incredible that this eight year old girl went to court by herself to get out of a horrible situation. Maybe it's just my complete lack of knowledge of children, but how many eight year olds would really even think of going to a judge alone after two months of abuse? Or not be too afraid of their abusers to report them?
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