This is Amina (Part 1 of 2) [Archives:2006/920/Reportage]

Shadha Mohammed Nasser
Amina is a beautiful woman with brown eyes. Although uneducated, she is very intelligent and speaks confidently with others. I visited her March 2005 at the Central Prison in Sana'a and she told me about her case, noting that she may be executed at any moment. I could not obtain a copy of her case file, so I left.

In my second visit, she came to me bareheaded and this time her countenance appealed to me as she asked, “Will you help me?” I really did pity her. I asked, “Is this your child?” “Yes it is,” she whispered, with sorrow in her eyes.

I returned home. Thinking of her, I could not sleep that night, wishing the weekend would end soon. At last, Saturday came and I met a friend with whom I discussed Amina's case so we might bring her to life again.

Like other village girls, Amina did not receive education, as there were neither schools nor teachers. She only memorized some verses from the Qur'an with the help of a man who voluntarily taught villagers, studying only two months.

Amina has never known any type of plaything, which is why one of her prison friends suggested I bring her a talking doll. Amina stressed that girls in her village are raised for household and agricultural work. The following is Amina's story.

Marriage

My father decided to help my elder brother marry, as recurring problems had ensued between them. He came to know a man named Hassan Qaba'il from another village and asked his daughter's hand for my brother. The girl's father agreed on condition that his son Hizam marry me. The two fathers agreed to the marriages and I was pledged to Hizam, although I was too young to be a wife, as I was nine years old at the time. Qaba'il assured my family that I would become familiar with the new family and intimacy would grow between me and my husband. It was important to them that my brother married their daughter who seemingly was as old as he. So, I married, although still too young to understand what marriage was and how to make a family. My only interest was the new dress, gold and other gifts brought for me. I also was happy with the party they arranged for me.

Marriage party

My brother's marriage ceremony was different than mine. He was an adult, so those attending his wedding ceremony were adults as well. Those who attended my wedding party were all children, except my family members.

I still remember being put on the marriage chair. Not knowing what a bride or marriage were, I left my party and went outside to play, but was brought back inside. People laughed at me as, indeed, I was a child. My poor mother wept over my marriage at such an early age, trying to conceal her feelings by saying they were tears of joy.

Moving to my husband's house

After my marriage party, my family took me to my husband's house in another village. We met my husband's family midway, where they took me and handed over their daughter, my brother's wife, to my family. At that moment, I burst into tears and asked my mother to accompany me. Counter to societal traditions, she stayed with me in my husband's house. However, a week later, she decided to leave and I insisted on returning with her.

As I was weeping and insisting on going with my mother, they confined me in a room, but I managed to run away that evening. I walked, but went astray when I climbed a mountain I did not know. I was scared and found nothing to eat or drink. I fainted while trying to reach my village, which was five hours' walk from there. After hours searching for me, my husband and his family found me fainted on the ground and brought me back.

Upon hearing of this incident, the village sheikh was upset and asked Qaba'il to return me to my family. “You should let her live with her family until she grows up; otherwise, she will die or harm herself,” he said. They agreed to return me to my family and took my brother's wife accordingly. In fact, my brother and his wife had a mutual understanding.

I stayed with my family for four months, after which my father returned me to my husband, allowing my sisters to come with me. My brother's wife returned with my father. After two months, my sisters left me. People tried to make me understand my life, for they thought I was mad.

Qaba'il did not like my visits to my family. He threatened me not to visit them again and put a black substance onto my eyes. I was unable to see anything for two weeks. When my father learned of this, he took me to a Sana'a hospital. I had three eye operations and the doctor advised me not to return to my husband for fear of complications with my eyes. For two months, I remained with my family for medical attention. In return, Qaba'il again took his daughter, my brother's wife.

Once again, my brother returned me to my husband and took his wife. Two months later, I got pregnant and gave birth to a girl. It was a difficult delivery and I suffered bitterly for two days. At first, I refused to take my daughter because I was not mature enough to understand her rights. However, my mother-in-law helped me, explaining how to look after her, and after that, I began to love my daughter very much.

My husband

My husband Hizam was two or three years older than me. They said he was 14 at the time of our marriage. He was kind to me and I loved him, but neither of us understood the meaning of married life. I helped him on the farm. He was poor, never even having 2,000 Riyals. We depended on the grain we raised on the farm. My father gave me whatever I wanted.

Amina's story will continue in Part 2 published in the next issue.

Shadha Mohammed Nasser is a Supreme Court lawyer.
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