This one is unfortunately a true story, written by a brave little girl (with the help of Delphine Minoui). Nujood had the courage to show up in a court of law to find out how she could divorce the man her father had -- I'm looking for a good word here, since she was too young to understand marriage -- let's say her father sold her to the old man, who promised to wait until she was older, but didn't. She got out of the terrible situation, as you can see by the title, because she was smart, as well as brave. My youngest granddaughter is ten years old, and she is a child. A child, not an adult woman! Can I imagine her in the situation Delphine Minoui wrote in the Epilogue? No, I can't."On November 10, 2008, in New York City, the youngest divorcee in the world has just been named a Woman of the Year by Glamour. With all the gravitas of her ten years, she shares this unexpected honor with the film star Nicole Kidman, the American secretary of state Condoleeza Rice, and Senator Hillary Clinton, among others" (p. 169).
I Am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced ~ by Nujood Ali, 2010. I rate this memoir 8 of 10, a very good book.
I thought this book was devastating, fascinating, and culturally interesting. I am so glad that I read it. Like you, I have a 10-year old in my life and that really made the reality of her situation hit home.
ReplyDeleteI read this book last year sometime. It was so shocking, I kept going "Oh My Gosh."
ReplyDeleteI don't have a 10 year old but I work with Girl Guides (girls age 9-11) and I have a 10 year old niece so I too was thinking how crazy it would be. Most of the 10 year olds I know don't even know all the basics of sex.