Have you ever read a book that left you questioning everything about your life? Why you choose to do something or what you would have done in that persons shoes?
I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced did just that for me.
Nujood lives in the Yemen, a place I have heard of but know very little about. Her story is compelling; coming home one day to learn that your father had decided it was time you be married off. She went from being a bubbly, curious little girl to a woman and wife in the blink of an eye.
While there were promises made, that were bound to be broken. Nujood found herself in one of the scariest situations in which a girl could find herself, without her family, in a strangers home with someone she now must call her husband and no escape. While her marriage is short, it is full of brutality with many enablers and no allies.
All Nujood knew was she wanted out, she never wanted to feel the pain her husband inflicted on her again, in which with the help of her second mother, who was married to her father, she devised a plan to escape. She knew after months of pleading and begging the only person who could help her was herself.
With all the courage she could muster took off towards a local bakery one morning as planned but instead veered off into a direction that would ultimately change her life. She found her way to the local courthouse and stood in front of a judge in which she exclaimed "I want a divorce."
These four words would forever change her life and those of so many Yemen girls futures. For a child to contest their marriage and ask for a divorce was unheard of, they are brought up as second class citizens, never to question the decisions of men. By Nujood taking the courage to speak up and the help of the many judicial officials the laws are slowly changing on the legalized age of marriage and Nujood was granted her divorce.
This is where first world citizens may start to question Nujoods next steps. After the divorce is final she decided to move back home, to live with the father who once moved her into marriage without her consent.
While there are no homes or orphanages for girls like Nujood there was a chance for her to move into a boarding school. Instead she opted for protecting her younger sister from a similar fate and moved back home.
I do not doubt her father has learned his lesson, but I do not understand why one would move back in with the man who gave her away with no protection other than a few words of a promise. However, we are talking about a 10 year old little girl who knows nothing else and still loves her father deeply.
As I finished this book I was left asking myself what would I have done? Would I have had the courage like Nujood? Or would I have given in and accepted my fate?
Being female, growing up in America we are taught that we are equal as men. But in under developed countries, such as Yemen, girls are not taught this. So I could not fully answer these questions, as I do not know what it's like to be less than something. I can only conclude that with my spirit I would likely find the similar courage as Nujood.
Overall this book was relatively easy to read. I had some difficulty with pronouncing city names and Arabic words but then again I don't know this language so I don't hold it against the book. (That's more of a user defect!) I feel that all women within first world countries should take a day or two to read this book, to gain an insight to how others are treated around the world and the idea of how different our lives would be if we were not equal.
The proceeds of the book go towards helping Nujood with school and someday becoming a lawyer along with paying for food and rent for her family. And while I don't agree with the part of helping out the man who her in this situation, I know the love of a father and that this is a little girl we are talking about. Therefore, I look past this discomfort and hope that Nujood achieves her goals someday with the help of the proceeds from her memoir.
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