| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Bodwick
United Kingdom
60 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 17:37:13
|
Money talks...
Mauritania: Child Marriage Tradition Turns Into Trafficking
http://allafrica.com/stories/200812100004.html
Marrying off Mauritanian girls as young as six years old to men in Gulf states is turning into a profitable trafficking enterprise as a typically rural marriage practice migrates to the city, according to urban families.
"It used to be widespread in the rural milieu, but now child marriages are more developed in urban areas as a new business," said Sidi Mohamed Ould Jyyide, a sociologist in the capital Nouakchott. "One's family can get rich for selling a daughter to a wealthy man. Early marriage is almost a guarantee to make a profit in no time."
Price of marriage
The sociologist said what used to be a cultural practice where only symbolic gifts were exchanged has turned into a business in which mostly poor urban families try to sell their daughters to wealthy families in marriage. Based on a girl's beauty and age - the younger, the more valuable - her family can demand from US$4,000 to tens of thousands of dollars, according to Jyyide.
"Smugglers are ready to pay for all expenses of travelling and accommodation for such girls," he added. These "smugglers" can be paid intermediaries working for men seeking child-brides, or family members of the girls.
Oumelkhary Mint Sidi Mohamed, 14, said when she was eight her father took her from her village of Adel Beghrou near Mauritania's border with Mali to an aunt in Nouakchott, who transported her to Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed told IRIN her family's dreams of wealth turned into her nightmare when she was raped by a cousin while waiting to be introduced to wealthy men in Saudi Arabia. "[To avoid shame], my family arranged with him to take me back home [to Mauritania] as his wife," Mohamed told IRIN. "I found myself in his house as a servant. He beat me as soon as my family left. I reported my endless suffering to my father to end the terrible relation."
The girl told IRIN that even after other family members intervened to help her get a divorce after one year, her father again tried to sell her in marriage in Saudi Arabia. Family friend Rabie Ould Idomou told IRIN he then stepped in and adopted Mohamed so he could be her legal guardian and keep her in Mauritania. "She must be rehabilitated [from her childhood trauma] in fairness and tranquillity," he said.
Idomou told IRIN that after getting the father's approval he is now trying to enrol Mohamed in school.
Whose law?
While the legal age of marriage in Mauritania is 18 according to the national family code, many in the predominantly Muslim country observe a different religious code. "It is accepted by the Islamic religion to marry a girl of six years old, but any physical contact has to wait for her biological maturity," Hamden Ould Tah, general secretary of Mauritania's Islamic Scholars Association, told IRIN.
Cultural analyst, author and professor Hussein Ould Medo said child marriage is still common in Mauritania and may be interpreted as a tool to reject what some see as the evils of modernisation. "It is a way to fight against a sweeping change or negative modern transformation."
A government source said it is difficult to determine the rate of child marriage in Mauritania. "The real rate of such marriages is not known because most cases are not recorded as official marriages and there are no official statistics in [the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and Families]," said ministerial director Aminetou Mint Takki. She added that any violation of the family code's legal marrying age would be punished.
But the law holds little relief for some girls in the country, said Aminetou Mint Moctar, president of the non-profit organisation Women Supporting Families. "The [family code] law is not enforced to protect the poorest or the uneducated."
In 2006 more than 14 million girls under 18 were forced into marriage in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN.
Mohamed told IRIN she hopes she will be the last child-bride victim: "I hope to play and go to school as every child does. I will never forgive my father and cousin for what they have done [to me]. I pray to be the last girl to go through that pain and humiliation
|
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects.
-- Robert A. Heinlein The Notebooks of Lazarus Long |
 |
|
|
toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 18:59:52
|
To the Muslim Scholars on Bantaba.............(Mbay?)
Is Bodwick correctly quoting Hamden Ould Tah ? If so, Is Hamden Ould Tah correct in what he has said ?
What is the Muslim accepted age for "biological maturity" which I take to be pubity
|
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
|
|
|
|
gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 21:30:44
|
So would you class these men buying young brides as peodophiles?
I would.
Young, poor, vunerable girls, with no say in the matter and no power being sold by their own families....shame on the family for allowing it and shame on the men that give more value to the younger girls.
In 2009 women should have a voice. They should be free to marry who they choose when they are old enough to make such an important decision.
Money shouldnt change hands. The girl is not a possession of her family. She is an individual.
I am shocked and angry that such practices continue!!!  |
|
|
|
turk
USA
3356 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 21:50:01
|
Of course money talks. but let me see the other countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageable_age
2bab
here is some homework for you.
------------------------
All Sunni schools of thought agree that forced marriages are strictly forbidden in Islam, as Islamic marriages are contracts between two consenting parties referred to as mithaq.[24] It has been quoted from Muhammad:
"The widow and the divorced woman shall not be married until their order is obtained, and the virgin shall not be married until her consent is obtained."
In addition, Muhammad gave women the power to annul their marriages if it was found that they had been married against their consent.
"When a man gives his daughter in marriage and she dislikes it, the marriage shall be annulled." Once a virgin girl came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said that her father had married her to a man against her wishes. The Prophet gave her the right to repudiate the marriage.[24]
In Islam, marriage is essentially a contract. However, the distinction between sacred and secular was never explicit in Islam. Any action or transaction in Islam has religious implications. It is not quite accurate, therefore, to designate marriage in Islam simply as a secular contract.
For a valid marriage, the following conditions must be satisfied, this is in accordance with all schools of thought[25]
There must be a clear proposal.[25]
There must be a clear acceptance.[24][25]
There must be at least two competent witnesses. This is necessary to exclude illicit sex and to safeguard legitimacy of progeny. It is recommended that marriage should be widely publicized.[25]
There must be a marriage gift, little or more, by the bridegroom to the bride.[25]
Maliki school of thought gives the right of Ijbar to the guardian. Ijbar is defined as the annulment of marriage due to objection by male guardian.[26] According to Imam Malik, children due to their immaturity may choose an unsuitable partner for themselves, hence, the power of Ijbar has been given to the guardian so that he may overrule the child to marry someone he thinks is unsuitable for her. This is the legal right given to the guardian for girls by Maliki school of thought.[27] In addition, Islam requires that parents be followed in almost every circumstances, hence parents may ask their children to divorce a certain person, but this cannot be upheld in an Islamic court of law and is not a legal right of the parent.[28]
[edit] Age of marriage
No age limits have been fixed by Islam for marriage according to Levy,[29] and "quite young children may be legally married." The girl may not live with the husband however until she is fit for marital sexual relations.[29] The Hanafi madhhab of Islamic fiqh maintains that a wife must not be taken to her husband's house until she reaches the condition of fitness for sexual relations. Levy adds:
"In case of a dispute on the matter between the husband and the bride's wali (her nearest male kinsman and her guardian), the judge (qadi) is to be informed and he is to appoint two matrons to examine the girl and report on her physical preparedness for marriage. If they decide she is too young, she must return to her father's house until she is judged fit. Betrothal may take place at any age. Actual marriage is later, but the age for it varies in different lands."[30]
In Islamic legal terminology, Baligh refers to a person who has reached maturity, puberty or adulthood and has full responsibility under Islamic law. Legal theorists assign different ages and criteria for reaching this state for both males and females.[31] In marriage baligh is related to the Arabic legal expression, hatta tutiqa'l-rijal, which means that the wedding may not take place until the girl is physically fit to engage in sexual intercourse. In comparison, baligh or balaghat concerns the reaching of sexual maturity which becomes manifest by the menses. The age related to these two concepts can, but need not necessarily, coincide. Only after a separate condition called rushd, or intellectual maturity to handle one's own property, is reached can a girl receive her bridewealth.[32]
|
diaspora! Too many Chiefs and Very Few Indians.
Halifa Salah: PDOIS is however realistic. It is fully aware that the Gambian voters are yet to reach a level of political consciousness that they rely on to vote on the basis of Principles, policies and programmes and practices. |
|
|
|
jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2009 : 09:37:03
|
| SO MONEY TALKS, if it is against holy teaching, then MONEY TALKS |
|
|
|
toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2009 : 11:47:42
|
Turk thanks for your research into the questions that I raised,I have read with interest what you have posted,it appears ( according to Wikipedia)that Hamden Ould Tah was correct in what he was quoted as saying,I still question the fact that 6 years old for a girl to be "given?" in marriage is too young the child cannot make such a decision at that age.
Further observations are welcome from other Muslim Scholars on Bantaba, I know there are many. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
|
|
|
|
turk
USA
3356 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2009 : 14:10:58
|
Money rules. Even having sex with children forbidden in Europe, s i c k o s go to underdevelop countries particularly Thailand, Africa and other underdeveloped regions just like the s i c k o s in saudi arabia or gulf states. May I point out that both regions do have money. At the same time some other islamic countries like Turkey, Iran, Bosnia, Albania, Tunisia, Malaysia, please correct me if I am wrong but, the child marriages not as frequent as the sub-saharan. So, looks like money and lack of it, really are the most important factors.
|
diaspora! Too many Chiefs and Very Few Indians.
Halifa Salah: PDOIS is however realistic. It is fully aware that the Gambian voters are yet to reach a level of political consciousness that they rely on to vote on the basis of Principles, policies and programmes and practices. |
|
|
|
jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2009 : 16:02:19
|
| either way, the MAN with the MONEY gets the deal, also ADULTS are involved all along the transaction way. |
|
|
|
serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2009 : 11:39:08
|
quote:
Originally posted by jambo
am not a gambian, BUT HERE IS MY RESPONSE,
FOR ALL THE ILLS THAT SOME TOURISTS CAN BRING, HOW ABOUT THE ILLS THAT are given to the turists,
ie when you land at the airport, TAXES FOR MANY things, fees to get things done,
BUMSTERS/prostitutes etc,
if tourists bring sills to the country DEAL WITH IT, it cannot happen if the locals refuse. the points made could be stopped but are not
WHY NOT CORRUPTION
Jambo, your response is disappointing, to say the least. 
Nobody forces you to visit a certain country as a tourist, but there are countries who depend on you doing it. But this imbalance doesn't give you the right to misbehave, to abuse your host's children, to get mindlessly pissed and start brawling, etc.
My heart bleeds for all the poor tourists who are forced to pay customs in Gambia like in any other country. They should praise the generosity of their hosts who don't ask them for an invitation, take their fingerprints (which would be an excellent idea to keep child rapists out of the country) or even ask for a visa.
For the bumsters: Your country (I think it is UK) as well as mine should stop to exploit African countries and support their corrupt regimes - then, and only then you wouldn't find any bumster at African beaches... |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
