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400 of 413 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A startling, eye-opening glimpse into another culture, January 27, 2010
This review is from: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Paperback)
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This short book, which I read in a single sitting, astounded me with its narrative and left me feeling a mix of anger and incredulity upon completing it. Before reading this book, I'd read about Nujood Ali, who has been described as possessing a "precocious self-assurance." After reading the book, it's clearly an accurate description of a young girl who refuses to accept a situation that she knows is wrong. In doing so, it turns out, she opens the door for long-overdue change.
Nujood doesn't live an easy life as a young girl in Yemen, but she still finds time to enjoy her childhood. Her father, who has two wives, seems incapable of supporting them on his meager salary, and the rest of the family must find ways to make ends meet. Her father, in an effort to ease his own burden, agrees to an arranged marriage with a man three times Nujood's age, with the condition that he not consummate the marriage until one year after her first period. The new husband breaks that promise on the very night of their wedding, and from that point forward continues to beat her and rape her nightly. This is not consensual sex, but child rape, pure and simple.
The story that unfolds from that point forward is nothing short of amazing. It's also heartening to learn that right from the beginning of her ordeal, several Yemenese men stepped forward to stand up for her rights, even while knowing that Sharia law and local customs would be working against them. It is also important to realize that educated, empowered women in these countries are also willing to step forward and challenge such destructive customs and laws, and one of them, Shada Nasser, becomes her lawyer and champion.
It is my hope that this book, and the fall-out from the divorce trial, will continue to help change the lives of women living within this type of culture, although perhaps not quickly enough. No matter how many times I read about situations like this, I still find it astounding that a man can rape a woman, as was the case with Nujood's older sister Mona, and it somehow becomes the fault of the woman that shame comes to the family name. How can this possibly be? How can a young woman be raped in her own home, and somehow it becomes her fault, and the males must protect their own honor by condemning the females? This horribly twisted logic (or the complete lack of it, truth be told) boggles the mind, and books such as this one help break down barriers by exposing dark secrets.
Nujood's father continually justified marrying off his ten-year-old daughter by pointing to the example of Muhammad, who married Aisha when she was but six, and consummated the marriage when she was nine years old. Some apologists insist that Muhammad didn't marry her until she was nine, but Aisha's own words, found in Bint al-Shati's The Wives of Prophet Muhammad, tell a different story.
"The Prophet married me when I was six years old and the marriage was consummated when I was nine. The Prophet of God came to our home in company with men and women who were among his followers. My mother came [to me] while I was in a swing between the branches of a tree and made me come down. She smoothed my hair, wiped my face with a little water then came forward and led me to the door. She stopped me while I calmed myself a little. Then she took me in. The Prophet of God was sitting on a bed in our home, and she sat me in his lap. Everyone jumped up and went out, and the Prophet consummated his marriage with me at our house."
It is time people stopped justifying this as a cultural/religious custom, and call it what it is: a crime against children that continues today, 1400 years after it was given credence by a man who claimed to be godly. Please understand that my comments here are not an attack upon Muslims, but on a custom that enjoys religious support because it was associated with the founder of a religion. It may have been a custom in times past, but it remains no less of a crime. Books like this are important because they expose this crime to the rest of the world.
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84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
short, yet searing--made my hair stand on end in parts!, January 26, 2010
This review is from: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Nujood Ali, a ten-year old Yemeni girl forced into marriage with a repulsive older man, refuses to put up with the injustice of the terrible abuse she suffers daily at his hands. Against tremendous odds, she will not back down until she gets what she wants: a divorce.
Najood tells her own amazing story with the help of co-author Delphine Minoui. This inspiring book, which comes out out in February 2010, has already been translated into 16 languages. The eleven chapters, plus epilogue, alternate between her determined legal battle beginning at the court house in the capital city of Sana'a, and the idealic early childhood in a remote village, leading up to her the disasterous union with her abuser.
Bucking the forces of age-old customs, family disapproval, and the tabu of "bringing shame to her family", Nujood's bravery and determination never flicker nor flag. She is completely sure of the justice of her cause, of her own self worth, and her faith in God. Really, Nujood is just an regular kid, like any other; she likes to play, to draw pictures and learn to read, and she loves her family--not so different really than millions of other girls who live in this mostly impoverished society, where men have the final word, no questions asked. But she has an internal strength to never question herself, and the simple belief that right will win out.
I think that, although Nujood's world may seem impossibly remote to our own, her book has universal appeal. It's the story of courage, of human rights, of passion and of compasssion. Little Nujood manages to find powerful allies within the justice system, including a remarkable attorney named Shada, and international support from women's and human right's groups, such as Oxfam. Her success has already inspired a few other young girls in similar situations to obtain justice. And it can inspire people like me, who, by comparison, live blessed lives, to believe in, and stand up for ourselves.
Thankfully, Nujood is recovering from the trauma of her ordeals. Hopefully, she will still enjoy being a child for a while longer. Gratefully, she has been able to return to school and sate her thirst for learning. Wonderfully, she has found a great reservoir of compassion for others who suffer. Inspiringly, she has set her sights on higher education and tireless work in the cause of justice, as an attorney or, possibly a journalist. You go, Nujood, the world is watching!
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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, but I was distracted, February 12, 2010
This review is from: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Had "I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced" been historical fiction or fantasy or a grown woman's memoir of her childhood, I would say it is fantastically written.
"I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced" is a true story, written by Delphine Minoui, an adult and Nujood Ali, who is still a child. Obviously, the actual writing is done by Minoui, as Ali has not had much schooling. Ali's voice is in first person, but that is where I find myself distracted. In the child's words, I hear the voice of an adult. Her observations too keen, more wise than her years, more educated than her one year of schooling would allow. Sometimes, she briefly mentions religion or culture as a way to educate readers about the context of the situation but yet immediately professes her ignorance. She cannot be ignorant and knowing at the same time. Minoui would have done better to write from the child's perspective and intersperse that with a third person narrative when attempting to educate the reader about the religious, political and social issues. For these distracting lapses, I subtract one star.
The story itself is very interesting. I remember reading of Ali's plight in the papers. In the book, she tells how she was wed and what that was like, how she decided to leave and the manner in which she escaped (it was fascinating) and what happened afterwards. I learned many details I did not know about from the media. The time frame of her story is quite short, less than a year, and the book is able to maintain focus.
Ali is a courageous young little girl, the first girl ever to win a divorce in her country, and I hope her life brings her much deserved happiness.
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