Per reports, the 8-year-old child bride was forced to marry a man five times her age. Because the girl was only eight-years-old, she was extremely small and still very much a child. However, that did not stop her 40-year-old groom from having intercourse with her on their wedding night. However, things only got worse from there because the bride eventually died from internal bleeding following her newlywed husband’s forceful penetration.
Because the little girl was only a child, her death has sparked outrage among the people of Yemen and the world community at large. Although Rawan died on her wedding night after being given to a 40-year-old man who killed her during s-x, Othman, who is the head of Yemen’s House of Folklore, hopes that her work as an activist can help other people see the dangers of child brides. The marriage occurred in the small town of Meedi.
“On the wedding night and after intercourse, she suffered from bleeding and uterine rupture which caused her death,” Othman stated bluntly. “They took her to a clinic, but the medics couldn’t save her life.” Although the man killed the child bride, Yemeni authorities have taken no action against the man responsible. They have also not taken any action against the girl’s family who allowed the 40-year-old man to marry the girl, five times his junior.
However, Meedi residents told Reuters that tribal chiefs covered up the tragedy after the news got out of town. They even tried to censor local journalists by urging them not to write about the story. Yemeni families sometimes marry their young daughters off as a way to save money. They no longer have to pay for the child’s food or childcare. They even earn cash money from the girl’s dowry.
Featured Image – Representative
