Only days after Yemen Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashour reiterated her determination to push forth a ban on under age marriage, media reported news of yet another child marriage scandal, this time in the central province of Ibb.
Gulf news quoted police sources in Yemen as saying that following a complaint registered by a relative the authorities successfully prevented the marriage of an eight year old school girl.
The victim, identified as Iftikhar, had been according to family statement and witnesses account promised by her father to her older cousin on January 23rd, in Al Souhoul an area in the Ibb province. Alerted by the girl’s uncle, rights activists immediately called on the authorities to take decisive action against the girl’s father as to prevent the union from taking place.
Under the orders of Brigadier General Mohammad Al Qudisi, Ibb security chief, soldiers were dispatched to the area as to stop the ceremony from going forward and take Iftikhar’s father into custody.
“The police arrived in the nick of time. The wedding preparations were in full swing,” Al Qudisi was quoting as saying by Gulf news.
Yasser Abbad, a local journalist hailed local authorities efforts, saying they had promptly and efficiently responded to activists’ calls. “The policemen were cooperative and immediately agreed to send forces to stop the wedding. We risked our lives to help stop the wedding. We were afraid that we might come under fire from the father,” he told reporters.
Iftikhar’s father, whose identity will remain secret for security and privacy issues, has already been released by the police under the strict promise he would wait for his daughter to bog legal age before attempting to marry her off. The father is said to have justify his actions by explaining that he felt compelled to offer his daughter to his nephew when a demand of marriage he made was forsaken.
A police official made a statement in which he noted, “The father said that he gave a tribal pledge to his nephew to marry his daughter when another man did not accept his marriage … We did not want to destroy his poor family as he is the breadwinner. Also we released him when he admitted his fault and pledged not to marry her off before she reaches the legal age of marriage.”
It is important when discussing child marriage in Yemen to understand how tribal customs work. In tribal Yemen a girl can often be married at a young age without actually moving into her husband’s home until she is of age. In such cases the marriage ceremony acts as a promise before God; it does not necessarily imply that the union will be immediately consummated.
Again while child marriage and child abuse in general is indeed a cause which the government needs to address with utmost care, it is crucial not to generalise or mis-label tribal practices and automatically assumes that all tribesmen are by definition child abusers.
An old country, Yemen’s tribal traditions span over centuries; if customs might have become obsolete in our modern times, it would be unfair to become prejudiced of such history. When it comes to child marriage, a dialogue needs to be opened in between tribal chiefs, activists, religious leaders and officials as to ensure that all actors understand what it is that they are working toward.