Monday September 14, 2009, 9:35 pm
" Fawziya Ammodi struggled for three days in labor, before dying of severe bleeding at a hospital on Friday, said the Seyaj Organization for the Protection of Children.

"Although the cause of her death was lack of medical care, the real case was the lack of education in Yemen and the fact that child marriages keep happening," said Seyaj President Ahmed al-Qureshi.

Born into an impoverished family in Hodeidah, Fawziya was forced to drop out of school and married off to a 24-year-old man last year, al-Qureshi said.

Child brides are commonplace in Yemen, especially in the Red Sea Coast where tribal customs hold sway. Hodeidah is the fourth largest city in Yemen and an important port.

More than half of all young Yemeni girls are married off before the age of 18 -- many times to older men, some with more than one wife, a study by Sanaa University found."

Read more at site..

Monday September 14, 2009, 11:55 pm
THIS MAKES ME SO DA - MAD

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 12:00 am
OMG, my heart goes out to these children. There is no excuse for this very disturbing lack of human rights using religion as excuse for child abuse.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 5:05 am
This is outrageous! Does The official reasons for allowing child marriages is said to be religion and custom, but in reality that is just a smoke screen for the real reason...The government of Yemen has no will to stop it. The question is, what are Yemen's trading partners willing to say? Do our governments sit idly by and turn their heads away or do they show some fortitude and take a stand.....Thanks Dee for this news.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 9:01 am
This is horrific, and sickening. Difficult though life is for women the world over, at least we have laws to protect us, and rights. These poor girls have no rights. What is more, if this were a Western country, the man would be put in prison for a very long time.

It's not just that these poor girls risk death. Because they are forced to have sex before they are fully-grown, many of them develop 'fistulas', which happens when immature vaginas are ripped open and urine leaks into them, resulting in infections and other complications. These poor women have to suffer the rest of their lives from smelling constantly of stale urine, and being shunned by society because of the smell.

There is no excuse. Tradition is no excuse. It used to be traditional for criminals in this country to be hung, drawn and quartered, but that was changed. This must stop. There must be an outcry, at this outrage. What is being done to campaign against this - and other atrocities, such as murdering girl babies? Perhaps imposing trade sanctions would be a start.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 9:03 am
Child marriages = slavery and abuse. This is disgusting but to be honest, what else do you expect from this nation, with its record of human rights abuse? >.> As long as they follow their ancient tribal customs, this sort of thing will continue and more young girls will die needlessly. Just because something has "worked" for centuries doesn't mean it's right :(

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 9:21 am
Sadly, this does take place in places across the world. These sweet little CHILDREN are forced into being sex-toy for these perverts. Their parents should be ashamed & should NOT do this. Governments should be ashamed & do something to stop this. Personally know this takes place in the USA. There are documented cases where eleven to fourteen year old girls are married off to men in their 30's to 50's.... Depravity. The parents know it, the one"marrying" [taking these little girls & forcing them to be sexually active] knows it is reprehensible.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 11:43 am
The men who marry these young girls are as perverted as rapists.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 12:55 pm
I don't care what their culture/religion is..how can they not know how horribly wrong this is..
It is just disgusting and sick to put a child through this..Just sick..

That poor child..all of those children..This is absolutely deplorable..

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 1:18 pm
It's hard to believe that this kind of child abuse still goes on in so many countries.
Very sad and the people who allow it to continue don't seem prepared to join the 21st century.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 4:04 pm
Thanks for your comment Dee, there's the usual anti arab racism in these comments. Yes its a tragic news story but ..Look at what the 21st? cent US has done to the Iraqi girls...they are forced into prostitution, sold as sex slaves, trafficked to Godforsaken only knows where, the child abuse photos never released and now forgotten by most and thats the very least we know of.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 5:01 pm
I was jumping rope at that age, dreaming of curves. she was sexually assualted and left to die in childbirth.
Kaled Hosseini, author of Kite Runner, wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns, all about women and how they are viewed by some men, and little girls are just another vessel.
her husband is blood guilty.

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 5:17 pm
but were not discussing the us and other countries here !!! were reading bout a child in yemin,who due to non exsistant child protection laws never had a chance to start with.because her family was poor she ended up with some slobbering letch,from some back assward tribe,and was able to assualt,defile and cause the death of an innocent child.just to satisfy his own depraved tastes.and some condon this by saying well look what the us and other countries have caused?? this is not the big pic here swiftos .this is how and why one lil girl was sexually murdered!

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 5:19 pm
oh,thanks dee c

Tuesday September 15, 2009, 10:52 pm
Look who's calling the kettle black. Elderberry, formerly known as Jackie C., poster of anti-Jewish hate speech by the neo-Nazi, anti-Semite, Holocaust denier and right-wing extremist Christopher Bollyn, says there is "the usual anti Arab racism" in these comments. Give me a break!

Elderberry, how can you defend men of any ethnic background impregnating 12 year old girls? And your comment implying that US servicemen somehow are forcing Iraqi girls into prostitution and promoting sex slavery is despicable. The Iraq war would never have happened if it weren't for a bunch of Arab terrorists instigated by Arab Osama bin Laden, and that's a fact, not "anti Arab racism."

Don't get me wrong. I believe Bush lied to the American people to start a war in Iraq that that was all about oil from the beginning. But Iraq is not Yemen, and has nothing to do with Dee's post. If you want to bash America, go find a more relevant post.

Why don't you accept the fact that there are good and bad people of every race and religion, even Islam. Just because this story is about child bride traditions in Yemen doesn't mean everyone who condemns the abhorrent practice is "anti Arab." Maybe they're just pro child.

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 12:41 am
I thought I smelt a rat, Tom. It never ceases to amaze me how some fanatics put their hate agenda before the rights of children. They don't belong on Care 2. Perhaps there's a Care Less site they could join.

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 4:45 am
This is absolutely deplorable... imagine the fear and anguish, the anxiety and stress these little girls are put through... Just for the sake of these traditions... they have become a curse around their necks, and I hope that they will change this way of thinking...

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 10:55 am
Sick, this custom is just sick. I am brokenhearted that an adult could destroy such innocence.

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 1:32 pm
Now let us figure this:
Loving poor family
gets rid of daughter to geizerpervert
geizer pervert rapes legally because married child wife.
child bride bares child for father pervert
a Grandchild for horrible parentsthat should have protected same
Poor raped legally child bride gets raped legally bares child
dies bleeding to death because some old pervert likes young girls. well lets here it for the cheering sectionfor the local pervert section.
how disgustingly cruel. Oh yes lets have new laws here for all kinds of people. This old geizer should forfeit his cow or farm to the parents just for the hell of it. All his money too. Then take the old bastoid out and kill him dead an eye for an eye. I am sick to death of hearing all these foreignors and our own perverts killing our children OR their children.
CUSTOMS- NO LUSTY SICK OLD BASTOIDS.GET IT RIGHT > MURDERER> seller of child for a buck. UGH!
As long as this goes on societies will never stop being ghastly because they think and ACT SICK. At the high cost of our blessed children. Broken hearted_ I am outraged . That girl will never again feel the pain of that butchers hands. . Lustin' pig pervert to rape a child and call it marriage. UGH! poor Baby may she walk with GOD .

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 1:35 pm
PIG PERVERT ROT IN HELL where you belong.

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 1:57 pm
Wonderful comment Tom..Thank you..I so agree..and I could not have said it any better myself..

There is no anti arab racism here..This is about the atrocities being done to innocent children..PERIOD..and anyone who cannot see that..well you have problems..

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 2:16 pm
This is just deplorable that it continues. These are just children. These men that inpregnant these young girls need to have their X#$%%% .
I have to stop it's just awful.
Tx Dee

Wednesday September 16, 2009, 6:49 pm
as the food shortage and economy collapse continues human slavery has sky rocketed. More girls are sold into marriage at much younger ages now in Afghanistan than ever before there has to be an universal stand up against exploitation in children and this isn't just happenoing in middle eastern countries, Thailand is one of the worst offenders of child sex slaves