Last year, I blogged about the issue of child marriage in some countries, and outlined my reasons for condemning the practice from an Islamic perspective.
Unfortunately, children continue to be married off in countries such as Yemen, where CNN reports today that a 12-year-old girl has died in childbirth after an agonizing 3-day labor. Last year, young Fawziya was pulled out of school and married to a man twice her age. It is heartbreaking that a girl so young should die in such a tragic manner.
Islamic organizations around the world have condemned child marriage as unhealthy both physically and psychologically for young girls. The Seyaj Organization for Childhood Protection, the Yemeni organization that originally reported on Fawziya's death, issued a statement in February supporting a minimum age law under proposal in that country. Unfortunately, that proposal was stalled in Parliament and never passed.
Several other Islamic governments decline to legislate a minimum age for marriage, as there is no age limit specified in Islamic shari'ah. This seems only an excuse for ignoring an important childhood health and safety issue.
While this is a great tragedy and a terrible loss for at least two families,what does this have to do with legislation in Yemen? Do people think Islamic laws are to blame for this girls death?I’ve heard more horror stories about newborns in dumpsters and unsafe abortions done by American teens and preteens than I can count.At least a publicly married teen girl would have the benefit of family support and whatever health care is available.Teenage girls have never stopped having babies and never will.But capitalist values through shame and humiliation have prevented them from marrying and having families in the west.This is very sad that a girl so young died in childbirth.But at least she avoided the lonely desert of concealing her pregnancy in shame and fear as has been imposed on so many girls her age in the west.
This has everything to do with legislation against child marriage in Yemen, and if such laws were in place, they would also have to be enforced. Unfortunately some Muslims do believe that it is a violation of what they think of as Shari’ah to dissallow child marriage. However, the true spirit of Shari’ah is justice. Child marriage in this day and age is unjust. So it would be more inline with Shar’iah and the spirit of justice in Islam to take modern interpretations of what constitutes marriageability and maturity and regulate that through law in countries that weave Shari’ah into their legal systems. Note that no country has a Shari’ah law because there is no book or doctrine called The Shari’ah. Rather shari’ah is interpeted and can change based on place and time according to scholarly rulings, with the Quran and ahadith as their basis.
It is such a shame that this happened to this girl. I feel for her and her family. Peace to them.
I agree with paidslave above. I am not sure why this is being highlighted in such manner – only obvious thing I can see is to be able to blame Islam again for something. If there is no law then it doesn’t mean Islam tells you to do it! As paidslave said, there are countless pregnancies in the west where they don’t even marry, and they by-the-way do not follow Islam! In Islam you at least have a condition before a pregnancy may occur, and during that condition one would hope a few sensible minds would get together to spot the obvious, i.e. Pregnancy at this age can be dangerous! If there are no such brains then I am sorry but this has nothing to do with Islam, it is to do with the Culture – and the cultures worldwide are now following the West! Cultures these days around the world are far away from what Islam prescribes.
Islam teaches you to respect women and their opinion – it is my belief that if her husband followed this law of Islam then this wouldn’t have happened.
The point is she should never have been married at all! She was only 12, not even a teenager. Yemen is an Islamic country, which is why it’s being seen as an Islamic issue. An attempt was made to include a minimum age law in that country which was never passed. Child marriage is just a way of justifying pedophilia, which is illegal in the West, as it should be worldwide. Poor child.
In the US when a 12 is found to be pregnant it is reported to CPS and the parents are investigated and sometimes they loose coustody of the child. We also would have done a lot of prenatal work and would have done a C-section before letting the little gilr die in such a way.
if a person is a muslim then he will never marry a girl age his daughter without a reason. if he does then he is only muslim by name infact a munafiq
Islamic law considers puberty the point at which a female is old enough to consummate her marriage.Before this it is considered pedophilia which is punishable by law.The west considers mental maturity as a factor because it’s culture attributes much greater social responsibility to a married woman.Most American states have an age of sexual consent which is 1 or 2 years younger than the age of marital consent,giving young girls a window of 1 or 2 years to fornicate before they marry.So much for the American moral soapbox.The medical standards of the west are however vastly more developed than those of most Islamic countries.While rape,incest,pedophilia,unwanted teen pregnancy,and every other social ill you can name have only increased since the establishment of marriage age minimums in the west,our scientific advancements have proven to save lives in our own countries and every country we lend them too.In short,(and this is short for paidslave),I have two points.1)British tragedies aren’t seen as Christian issues,Indian tragedies aren’t seen as Hindu issues so Yemeni tragedies shouldn’t be seen as Islamic issues.Malpractice and standardized medical legislation should be explored before siding up with news hawks taking cheap shots at Islam. and 2)The secular world and the Muslim world are never going to agree on moral issues,but we do know that both sides will endanger their own citizens and destroy their own economies trying to change each other by force.Awareness and a willingness to coexist are the keys to peace and prosperity for the entire world.
And a final note for modernist Muslims.None of the ideas from the secular world are “modern”.They are all pre-Islamic.From the secular societies of Ad and Thamud to the sexual revolution of the people of Lut(AS)to the matriarchal societies of Sulaimans’(AS) time to the Democratic parliaments of ancient Rome to the aero-technology and medical science of ancient Egypt-these are all flawed man-made systems that God sent Prophets to improve.There’s nothing new around here but “us”.Please inform us of some new idea that Muslims should adopt… … … … … …Well then.You are extremely fortunately to have been chosen to be Muslims are your neighbors are also blessed to have you around.
Ramadan Mubarak(blessed month) to everyone.
asalamualaikum ramathan mu barik ! as a Muslimah pls ppl b mindful that there r young girls that r fornicating as young as 11 12 13 and younger! yes in the west these young girls r very much n to looking good fashionably. they like the brand names they have boyfrinds that will get it for them. pls believe me! murray povich has a show how 10yo have slept with 15 and 20 men and some one wants to cry about a girl being Married and dies n child birth r u ppl serious? these r the same ppl that take marriage that Allah made beautiful, and blaspheme it with homosexuality marriage (talk about anti-christ behavior) so pls just really stop!
If this isn’t an Islamic issue, why state that Islamic law considers puberty the point at which a female is old enough to consummate her marriage? A 12-year old girl is not old enough to consummate a marriage to a man twice her age. Most 12-year-olds are still playing with dolls. She was probably forced into the marriage. It should have been her choice, which is the Islamic way, no? Marriage can mean having relations every day, something a preteen girl would probably not enjoy. Of course in all societies there will be people that behave immorally. What if it were your daughter, your sister or yourself? What will be justified next, female circumcision? Also controversial and only recently been banned in some countries! Ma salam and Eid Mubarak!
In Islam if a woman dies at child birth she enters the paradise immediately so we should not look at this as a tragedy. Like others have said there are kids all across America who get pregnant but we do not high light those. When a person gets pregnant it’s by God and no matter what we do to try and stop it if it’s gonna happen it’s gonna happen.that’s just apart of sex. At least these girls are married and have something to fall back on unlike the girls here in the west. people have theses so backwards here. not to mention that once a girl hits puberty she is no longer a child. and if we were to get our children ready for marriage and for being an adult then there would be no mental issues. They would simply adjust. it’s better to let them get married than to make them wait because we know young people are impatient. They are gonna have sex anyway so why not be under the protection of a marriage when doing so.
This is a interesting discussion, if an American female of Christian background may join it. Anyone can die in childbirth – I was told by my doctor that I would have, if I hadn’t been in a hospital with modern medical care. Should, however, a 12-year old (of either gender) be married, or having sex, or having children? In my opinion, no. Some people never grow responsible and mature enough for the demands of marriage or parenthood, but I think it is safe to say that no 12 year olds are.
The question of choice is also a big one – did this girl want to be married, want to sleep with someone, want to leave school, want to leave her family, or want to have a baby at that young age? Yet even if she chose all those things, we are all aware what poor choices children can make, not having enough wisdom, experience, patience, or realization of future consequences to make wise choices. We have all seen children of that age who don’t think far enough ahead to bring a jacket on a blustery day, or who don’t do their homework even though they’d like a good grade in their classes.
It is a truth that people will be people everywhere. In every country and every culture, some will make poor choices or selfish choices. Some parents will fail to protect, guide, and care for their children. Likewise some men will sleep with a girl or woman entirely for their own gratification, with no concern that the girl or woman might get pregnant, sick, or hurt – either physically or emotionally. Tragically, it is only when someone dies that this even comes to anyone’s attention.
But self-centeredness or lack of concern for others is not an Islamic problem, nor merely a Christian or Hindu or Buddhist or Jewish or secular problem. It is common to all mankind, and we must do all we can to avoid it in our own lives, rather than spending all our time pointing out the faults in other’s lives. We have met the enemy… and the enemy is ourselves.
Sometimes laws can help save us from ourselves. A law against marriage before, say, age 16, might help. Whether that would actually cause more unwed teenage pregnancies, I don’t know. We need an unbiased scientific study on that question.
In my culture, even 20 is considered young to marry, and very few of those early marriages in the U.S. last happily for more than two or three years.
In this particular case, we do not know the parents, or the husband, or anyone’s actions or motivations. We can’t say whether they acted with good intent or self-sacrifice or love or foolishness or irresponsibility. But I’m sure this was a tragedy for them, and we can join them in mourning their loss. Even if this girl is very happy in paradise, others will miss her, and it’s quite possible that our world is poorer for her being gone from it.
In my experience girls from the poor undeveloped countries mature earlier than we do here in the West.
In these Western countries we are forced to live the life of a child far longer than is nessesary yet we are constantly bombarded with sexual ideas that we are in no postion to deal with.
Children are expected to be sexually active by their peers and with all this compulsory ‘Sexual Education’ at school it seems that it is only natural for us to go down this path of trying out many sexual partners before committing to our Prince Charming.
The poor girl that died, died because of a lack of medical equipment and expertise which is common in poor countries.
Though they way it was reported is just another example of the media trying to throw dirt on the Islamic religeon.
“This seems only an excuse for ignoring an important childhood health and safety issue.”
Agreed. This is a problem with traditional Islam (the broadest use of the term) in general, which is constructed through a narrow cultural gaze and ignores the vibrancy of Islam.
I agreed with tahirah, in west there are lot of cases where the girl at the age of 10yrs old had birth.Even under the age of 10yrs they having a sex in the name of fashion. Western goverments cannot stop them then why they making this issue in Yemen.
Im not in favour of this 10 or 12 yrs marriages but the west have to look first their own culture where they dont have any power to stop these young 10 to 12 years to stop their sex activites.
Daaimah made the comment that once a girl hits puberty she is no longer a child. No offense to anyone is intended, but I would like to point out that many girls, especially here in the U.S have reached puberty as early as 8 or 9 years of age. Just because a girl begins to menstruate does not mean that her body is mature enough to carry a child without serious risk to both her and the child. That includes girls from all parts of the world. We cannot stop all immoral acts that people, including children make, but we can stop pointing the finger at any one group of people, especially when the same things happen in this country. Education is the key to this problem, but in order to learn the lesson, we must first be willing to hear the lesson.
The true and safe places of the children are the warm of their family, school, and safe place of play.
They need always the true love and sacrifices.
To marry a child and have sex with her and make her pregnant as soon as she reaches puberty is not only paedophilia but also murder.
A child that age is not ready to have children, her body is not mature enough.
They should have given her an abortion to save her life, and the parents ans the husband should be in jail for murder attempt.
Poor child. May her soul rest in peace.
Child marriage is abhorrent. While it may have been the norm in past ages, its not a thing to be lauded or encouraged. A precedent is not a infallible or inviolable basis for laying down a law to follow. For me it suffices, if its not in the Quran, any cultural precedent can be changed even if it had been followed by past Muslims.
Poverty is often at the root of such marriages. As for the comments from non-Muslims, I cannot but feel such news are highlighted merely to give a stick to beat the Muslims. Change CANNOT BE IMPOSED FROM THE TOP. It has to come and will come from within. Sanctimonious comments will make no difference.
Re: “Several other Islamic governments decline to legislate a minimum age for marriage, as there is no age limit specified in Islamic shari’ah”
The fact that no age limit has been specified, means that one has to exercise one’s mind in this area and making a law in this regard is perfectly legitimate – and it is a no brainer that child marriage should be banned. I add my voice as a Muslim to this change by legislation.
i want to tell everybody read this article this happens everywhere in different ways.like in western they do sex instead of marrie but arabs marrie and live with ur husband in peace..donot laugh at yemen ..laugh at ur self
one of my friend’s father committed a robbery.when investigations were done the whole man’s family was charged with robbery.is it logical?absolutely not.in the same context the non-muslims alwys dwell on the small minority of the blacksheep in the muslim community.y don you go back to the quran n sayings of prophet muhamad(.s.a.w) on any issues affecting the muslim community instead of making noise that islam is doing this n this.you’ll be astonished how islam offers the solutions in asplendid n satisfying manner.2 the muslims we should never feel sorry 4 something that is absolutely wrong.we should turn the tables over(dr.zakiir).if one wants 2 know what islam stands 4 he/she should use his/her reference point as the muslims’ holy book