Author: Nujood Ali
Pages: 188
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO
This is my 33rd read for 2019. I finished reading it on 3/1/2019.
I have decided not to blog on the weekends. Not that anyone cares, but I have found that my weekends are really busy, and since I am not doing a daily review any more, I don't find any reason to rush. Spread things out a bit while I am reading other books.
I know very little about Yemen. All I know is that they tried to bomb Saudi Arabia while we were visiting the UAE last year. And then Saudi Arabia relatilated. End of knowledge.
This is the author's own personal story. When she was 10 years old (or she thinks she could have been 8 or 9 - no one kept track of her actual birth year) she was married off to a man three times her age. Her father stated it was because he was afraid she would be kidnapped, so marrying her off would make her safe.
What happened instead is daily abuse- both physical and emotional - from her husband and her husband's family. She got to a point where she couldn't take it any more and fled. She went to a courthouse and announced that she wanted to get a divorce. A renound lawyer took her case, fought and won. Nujood's story gained national attention, and her brave choice paved the way for other child brides to sue for divorce.
This was a pretty good book. It is simple writing, as you would expect of the very young and under educated, but the story is pretty powerful and will break your heart. What she did was extremely brave and basically unheard of in a country where women are viewed basically as property. I would love to know where Nujood is now and how her life has changed since 2008 when she won her case.
I suggest you read this book, not for the quality of story telling, but for the story itself. Knowledge is power and if this challenge has taught me anything it is how very lucky my kids are.
Stars: 4
I remember the news when her story came out, I hope to get around to reading this. I can't even imagine having the kind of strength needed to do what she did.
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