Early marriage between acceptance and refusal

By: Zohor al-Ba'adani

Translated and edited by: Mahmoud Assamiee

SANA'A, April, 13 (Saba)- Early marriage has become an issue for
research after it was an important demand in the past.

Girl marriage at the age of 15 to a young with an age did not exceed
20 years was normal. Couple started their life by getting so many
children consecutively.

Nowadays, early marriage has become old habit young people see it as
backwardness and even injustice as tying the fate of the girl and
the young with life's restrictions and responsibilities.

The recent law that defines the marriage's age of 17 evokes
acceptance by some and refusal by others. However those who oppose
early marriage have their reasons.

Dr. Mohammad al-Qadasi, public health specialist, says the problems
of early marriage are early reproduction, delivery by Caesar
operation due to small size of womb, sexual problems, disharmony
between married couple, inability of taking marriage responsibility
and social problems could result by divorce.

Psychologically, Psychologist Nabila Fawzi says: "Early marriage
affects the small girl psychologically. As a result, her physical
and mental health is deteriorating because she can not accept living
with a husband elder than her."

Meanwhile, Physician Thurya al-Absi, specializing in female and
delivery diseases says from health point" early marriage is better
to woman aged between 18-25." After this age woman could face
difficulties in pregnancy and delivery, besides infertility. She
says theses difficulties are increasing with the rising marriage's
age.

On the other hand, she says, it has been approved that marriage
saves men and women from temporary and chronic headache.
Psychological feelings of the permanent and stable relations help
reducing body's disturbances and on creating happiness hormones more
than of anxiety, fear and sadness.

Sociologist Munther Ishaq, the professor of Social Science in Taiz
University's Faculty of Arts sys:" I think early marriage is social
phenomenon began decreasing more than in the past." The reasons of
this, he says, education, increasing awareness. Schools and
universities currently witness growing numbers of girls who qualify
themselves to join labor market.

Economic effects on early marriage

Increasing of poverty percentage and deteriorating of individual and
society's income have contributed on delaying marriage's age not
only among females but also males. Marriage means taking family and
economic responsibility under living income deterioration. This
makes it difficult to take marriage decision wither by males and
females.

These matter concerns female more despite great efforts they exert
for getting work. Woman still suffers unemployment problem and that
education factor has created noticeable cultural change in the
society makes the idea of running away form the early marriage
pressing and exiting. However it is not easy to overcome it.

Early marriage phenomenon

The phenomenon has been spread in the society for long time. We
currently start taking successful steps to eradicate this negative
phenomenon. Yet, this does not mean we could practically get rid of
it. The phenomenon still widely spread in rural areas and that
countryside in our country is prevailing because it is wide.

There is growing phenomenon called fake cities because of emigrating
so many people from the countryside into cities. These people
transferred their customs to the modern society and kept them in
their new life. These obstacles still make early marriage existing
social issue.

However, there are indicators reveal considerable retreat of this
phenomenon. We are happy that we have a law defining the marriage
age issued recently. Despite still incomplete step but it is very
positive one.

Law and the early marriage

Lawyer Fadhl al-Kharasani says such marriage "is considered invalid
and worthless due to its dangerous aftermaths." He cited item No
(10) of the Yemeni new law which says "every marriage contract
forces each one of the couple on marriage is considered illegal."

He says that acceptance of marriage is one of the main contract's
conditions. However, the law doe not include penalties against
guardians who force their daughters on marriage. The law, he says,
gives the girl the right to abolish the contract and return to
justice for protection.

In this case, the judge has the legitimacy to separate the married
couple. "In our office, there are many examples to such issues. For
this reason, advocate committee has been established for solving
these cases and dismantling the contract," said al-Kharasani.

In the past, these issues were neglected but now there are penalties
against writers of marriage contracts who agree on such marriage.
Some parents marry their daughters underage for protecting their
dignity and some others for financial benefits without considering
dangers of early marriage.

What annoyed me, says the lawyer, was that some of mosque preachers
who were requested to aware people on dangers of early marriage have
refused to do so due to their narrow understanding. Their pretext
was that there was no text in the Holly Koran prohibits early
marriage.

"Two days ago, a little girl came demanding dismantling her marriage
contract with elder husband. We really attended before court and
were able to finish this issue by abolishing the contract," added
al-Kharasani.

Some women have different ideas about marriage age. Huda, a teacher
in a school for girls, married two years ago says:" I prefer girl
marriage while she is between 20-25. If she marries later she will
not be able to be in harmony with her husband psychologically and
socially." She justifies that, it is easy to a younger wife to cope
with her husband but it is difficult to elder girl to acclimate with
her new life because she has already fixed her aims.

She believes that early marriage gives the married couple greater
chance to giving birth and makes family planning easy to give every
child his rights. In this age, the girl is in her top mental and
physical activity. Her ability to afford problems is stronger
besides her existing energy on moral, psychological and dynamic
contribution.

"I advise early marriage to girls if they find those who accept
their religion and morals. By marriage, girl protects herself and
brings physical stability," the school teacher argued.

Abdul-Qader Abdul-Kader Abdul-Qawi, employee at Al-Thowra newspaper
tells his marriage experience. He says:" I introduced myself to
engage my wife while she was at her 13 and her father agreed."

In the first five years of our marriage, I suffered more because she
did know nothing about marriage issues. But, praise to Allah, things
passed well. "Today, I have children from her and I am happy in my
marriage, praise to Allah," he affirmed.

What strange is that this man, when he was asked to marry his
daughter to elder person, strongly refused to do so. "I do neither
agree nor accept this because my daughter still immature and I will
marry her only after she grows and complete education," he
maintained.

A neighboring family married their little girl to a man elder than
her for his high post. "My daughter came this morning, with a bloody
body and spots of burns on it," the mother of the child wife said.

The elder husband traveled with his child wife to spend the
honeymoon, which they spend half of it because the wife has left the
husband and run away asking help of her neighbors to save her from
the injustice befell on her. Their neighbors took the child to her
family.

Religion's attitude and social practices

Professor Muhyiaddin, the Head of Islamic Studies Center in Taiz
University says marriage has several aims: Preserving humanity,
protecting society against moral deviation, preserving races, soul
and psychological stability, protecting society against sexual
diseases resulted in absence of legal marriage and then responding
to human soul of maternity and fatherhood.

"After citing texts of the wholly Koran I say Islamic Law does not
define fixed age to marriage's contract," said the professor who
first recited verses from the holly Koran supporting marriage.

"Even, previous scholars allowed marriage of the girl who is
underage. But laws in our Islamic countries have defined another age
to marriage," he said. Adding, from this point comes the definition
of early marriage.

"The real meaning of early marriage from medical scientific
viewpoint is underage marriage, while early marriage for girl is
before monthly period," he said. However, what is called marriage
before age 18 is illegal is not based on scientific, legal and
Islamic foundations.

He says that calling to delay the marriage age for claimed danger is
baseless. Those who call for this have weak justifications such as
depriving girl from education, still unable to give birth and other
reasons such as small size of girl's sexual organs, all these
pretexts contradicting medicine.

Concerning increasing mortalities of small mothers due pregnancy and
malnutrition is not Islamic claim.

Finally, it is not legal to enact a law prohibits marriage under 17
years because this could led to many abuses. In addition, there is
no text in the holly Koran defines a particular age for marriage.