In a video released on LiveLeak, Nada Al-Ahdal said she was forced to flee [from her family] and live with her uncle after she was promised to another man.
“They told me that I am engaged, and that my fiancé had already paid them money and brought the engagement ring,” Nada tells the camera.
“They said that I couldn’t leave and even threatened to kill me if I went back to my uncle.”
The video was released by the Middle East Research Institute, a non-profit press monitoring organisation based in the US.
The girl says a common response from child brides is to commit suicide when faced with a forced marriage.
“I’m not an item for sale, I’m a human being and I would rather die than get married at this age.”
“I’ve decided that I have two choices: to leave or to die. So I chose the first.”
The video is quickly going viral on the internet. Thanks to sharing through social media and websites like Reddit. (Source: LiveLeak)
Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will. A forced marriage differs from an arranged marriage, in which both parties consent to the assistance of their parents or a third party (such as a matchmaker) in identifying a spouse, although the difference between the two may be indistinct.
The practice of forced marriage is still practiced in many parts of South Asia, East Asia and Africa and among immigrants to the West from these regions.
Some scholars object to use of the term “forced marriage” because it invokes the consensual legitimating language of marriage (such as husband/wife) for an experience that is precisely the opposite. A variety of alternatives exist, including forced conjugal association, and conjugal slavery.
The United Nations views forced marriage as a form of human rights abuse, since it violates the principle of the freedom and autonomy of individuals. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that a women’s right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to her life and dignity, and equality as a human being. The Roman Catholic Church deems forced marriage grounds for granting an annulment — for a marriage to be valid both parties must give their consent freely. Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery also prohibits marriage without right to refuse of herself out of her parents’, family’s and other persons’ will and requires the minimum age for marriage to prevent this. (Source: Wikipedia)