Argumentative Essay On Child Marriage

Child marriage is defined as the marriage of a child below the age of 18 (Al Amodi, 2013). In Yemen, which is one of the world’s most conservative countries, where strict interpretations of Islam dictate people’s lives, child marriage is a serious troubling issue (Nour, 2009). Child marriage is widely spread and occurs in almost all regions of Yemen, which mostly occurs in poor, rural communities. Following the Spring of 2011, it has been left with a disturbing power vacuum. It 's arid, filled with a high rate of illiteracy and paralyzed by ancient traditions (Harlan, 2015).

Nearly fifty percent of all women in Yemen were married as children (Harlan, 2015). According to Al Amodi (2013), 14 percent of girls are married before the age of 15, while 52 percent of girls are married before the age of 18 and in some cases, girls might get married at the age of 8. The problem with the practice of underage marriage is that it denies a girl her right to health, education, and choice. Moreover, they are more likely to die while giving birth and are at an increased risk of encountering sexual and physical abuses than women who get married at the age of 18 or older (Yemen: End Child Marriage, 2014).

Furthermore, child marriage often imposes devastating consequences on the girl’s health. Arwa Abdu Mohammad Ali, aged nine, is a Yemeni girl who requested a legal divorce in the town of Jibla. The case divulged that her husband had performed brutal physical abuses that caused severe