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Mark · Site Admin Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 1052

Child marriage and divorce in Yemen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7711554.stm

Excerpt:

The nine year old child lives with her parents and six brothers and sisters in a humble, two-roomed house overlooking the mosque built by her namesake, Queen Arwa, who ruled Yemen 900 years ago.

She knows nothing of wealth and power but, in her own way, she has helped make history.

Arwa is the youngest of three Yemeni girls who recently went to court complaining they were married against their will and asking for divorce - an astonishing display of defiance that has prompted the government to review its law on early marriage.

Paul B · Facilitator Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

For me religious consciousness does not come before humanitarien consciousness and no human can claim to speak in gods name(whichever god).Influential and power seeking humans have created the various religious hierarchial systems and of course were made for those times which by now in modern times have many incompatible demands and out dated ethical religious values.

That gender discrimination is present in many religious teachings is a fact and therefore governments find themeselves in difficult situations when certain religious rituals and traditions actually break certain civil laws.In London it used to be(?) that Indian Sihks were allowed to drive motorbikes without wearing safety helmets as stated in law.British citizen Indian girls under the age of 13 years are often taken out of British schools by their parents to marrry their from birth promised spouse in India.A certain religion doe not tolerate women going into marriage for the first time without being still virgins.The list is long.

If a society puts humanitarien consideration secondary to religion and religious values there will be individual suffering as primary the collective power rules.My first response is too respect religious faith whether it meets my personal views or not but when suffering is caused my values change of course.Its just ridicolous therefore to have underage females forced by religious doctrine to bow down and obey personal and intimate religious demands made by religions dominated by males since thousands of years.Just as we have verbenium discrimination laws in civil society which stil need to be improved the same goes for r

Paul B · Facilitator Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

r....religion .

Mark · Site Admin Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 1052

There's an old saying that your freedom stops where my chin begins.

Freedom can only be respected when it does not harm others. Good points, Paul.