I've been doing quite some reading. Not that I have time to spare or anything. On the contrary, I've been super busy writing my thesis and doing all sorts of school work, searching for a job and whatnot but reading is relaxing and helps me take my mind off things. Plus, I'm still learning and engaging my brain in some way, instead of wasting time by playing online games and watching TV shows, which is not bad at all, I do it too *cough, cough, Farmville, cough*.
Anyway, I read a really good, yet sad book called I AmNujood, Age 10 and Divorced. This book is about a 10 year old girl in Yemen who lives with her family in the country's capital. However, their economic situation is really bad and she and her siblings make their living by going out on the street to beg for money. One day her dad decides to marry her off to a 30 year-old man so that he can care for her and so that it's one less mouth to feed. By law, girls are allowed to be married off that young but the men can't have sex with them until after their first period. So her husband totally ignores that and rapes and physically abuses her. Eventually when she goes back to visit her family they don't really want to do anything about it but it's her father's second wife who tells her she has to go to court to file for a divorce, and she does. Her divorce is granted and her case gets a lot of media attention and publicity.
I think this book has a really powerful message because this 10 year old girl stood up for her rights and for what she believed in, coming from a society where women have no voice and basically no rights. What she did shows a lot of strength and character because this practice is not uncommon in Yemen. Actually, when I think about it, it makes me so grateful for everything I have and the kind of society I live in because we have our rights as women and can marry for love and not simply to be "one less mouth to feed."
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes!
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