It sounds like the title of some trashy novel (Sherry Jones, call your office), but actually the phenomenon of schoolgirl divorcees is the inevitable byproduct of the sanction given to child marriage by Muhammad’s consummation of his marriage to Aisha when she was nine years old, and his status in Islam as the perfect exemplar for all human behavior.
An update on this story. “Schoolgirl divorcee, 10, launches book about shocking child bride ordeal,” by Peter Allen for the Daily Mail, February 2 (thanks to Daniel):
A schoolgirl who was married by the age of eight today launched a new book about her extraordinary ordeal.
Nojoud Ali, now aged 10, is in Paris promoting an autobiography which is set to be a worldwide bestseller.
British publishers are already queuing up for the rights to a story which has been taken up by women’s rights groups worldwide.
Last year a court in Yemen annulled Nojoud’s arranged marriage to a 29-year-old man.
The minimum age for marriage is currently 15 years-old in the country, but parents are allowed to overrule the law if they judge that their daughter is “˜ready” for marriage.
Noujoud’s strict Muslim family had decided she was, forcing her to go and live with Faez Ali Thameur.
The pair did consummate the marriage, it is claimed.
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, is notorious for its child brides….