An 8-year-old Yemeni girl has become the latest victim of the Religion of Pieces.  Harwan, the little girl, lived in the tribal area of Hardh in northwestern Yemen, near the Saudi border.  Her family married Harwan to a bridegroom approximately five times as old as she was.  He insisted on his marital rights on their wedding night.  These marital rights included tearing Harwan’s genitals so that she bled to death.

The toxic combination of tribal culture and Islam means that child brides are common in Yemen.  According to a 2010 Yemeni government report, more than 25% of Yemeni brides are 15 and under.  The results are sadly inevitable:

Tribal custom also plays a role, including the belief that a young bride can be shaped into an obedient wife, bear more children and be kept away from temptation.

In September 2010, a 12-year-old Yemeni child-bride died after struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights organisation said.

One wonders if the activists who are properly trying to end this barbaric custom have tried to argue that, “Well, yes, Mohamed did take a 9-year-old bride but he was able to do that only because he was special.  You’re not that special, so no pre-adolescent or barely adolescent bride for you.”

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