A young Yemeni girl stares defiantly into the camera. Her question is a shocking one, coming from an 11-year-old:
"Would it make you happy to marry me off?" asks Nada Al-Ahdal.
In the nearly two-and-a-half-minute video, which was uploaded to YouTube and quickly went viral, Nada accuses her parents of trying to get her married off in exchange for money. She explains how she doesn't want to be one of Yemen's child brides.
"Death would be a better option for me," she declares. watch the video after the cut.
Nada also speaks on behalf of other Yemeni girls: "What about the innocence of childhood? What have the children done wrong so that you would marry them off like that?"
The video, which been seen by millions of people around the world, has put a spotlight once more on Yemen's child marriages.
It has also made Nada an online sensation, although questions have been raised: Did her story add up? Was she really being pressured to get married?
Nada's parents have repeatedly stressed they have no intention to marry her off. And Seyaj, Yemen's leading child-rights organization, said they believed portions of Nada's story were fabricated.
The drama came to a head this past weekend, and CNN gained exclusive access as the parties came face to face.
Before Nada entered the room, Al-Eryani spoke with both of Nada's parents and her uncle.
"If you love her, save her childhood. ... You all are adults -- you all know what's best for her -- but we need to protect this child," Al-Eryani said.
Nada entered the room a short time later. Facing her parents, she answered allegations that her story may have been made up.
At one point, she asked Al-Eryani, "Why do you believe them and don't believe me?" before breaking down in tears.
"I don't care about what's best for the mom or dad or uncle," Al-Eryani explained later, "just what's best for the girl."
Where the truth lies has been hard to determine.
In an extraordinary moment during the proceedings, Nada asked for something few in the room were expecting.
"In the countryside, there's no English classes, there's no computer classes," she said, talking about her hometown. "Please let me stay in Sanaa and study here."
All she wants, apparently, is a chance at a better life.
And she might get it: At the end of session, they made an agreement: The entire family -- parents and uncle included, are going to move into the house of another relative in Sanaa, to see if they can work it all out together.
would put some hard pecker up her quick.
ReplyDeletehot little slut, would love to chpok her tight birth hole and fiil it with my sticky malafya so deeply
ReplyDelete