Analysis Of I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced

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In I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, a young girl’s harsh reality directs her to take drastic measures to end her living nightmare. Nujood Ali, the main character of the book, begins by describing her observations at the courthouse. Despite feeling out of place, Nujood was there for one specific reason—she wanted a divorce!
Nujood shares her background by introducing the village of Khardji, the place where she was born. Nujood states, “women are not taught how to make choices [where she’s from]” (Ali & Minoui, 2010, p. 23). To exemplify the power men hold within her country, Nujood shares her mother’s story. At the age of 16, Nujood’s mother was married off to Ali. Four years later, Ali decided to enlarge the family by choosing a second wife. Nujood’s mother had no say. Nujood makes it clear her family is less fortunate. She describes her village as “little stone houses without …show more content…

Nujood’s divorce case in a place like Yemen brought plenty of publicity. Feminist organizations, TV networks, newspapers, and film cameras all together flooded the courtroom. Despite Nujood’s husband and father lying to the judge in court, it was all of Nujood’s supporters, who helped her win the court case. Instead of singing a divorce chant, the victory proceeded to a Happy Birthday chant because Nujood never had a birthday. Nujood’s mother had borne a total of 16 children, and therefore were too many birthdays to recall. So this special day (April 15, 2008) was adopted as Nujood’s birthday.
The bravery Nujood demonstrated opened the doors for many other child brides. The issue of underage marriage had never gained as much exposure as it had after Nujood was publicly recognized as the youngest divorcee in the world. Yemen Times, along with other journalist wanted to share Nujood’s story. As uncomfortable as it was for Nujood to replay her occurrences for the journalist, she did it for a greater purpose. To help others in a situation like

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