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Too Young to Wed-The Secret World of Child Brides: (your aren't gonna believe this one!)

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posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 08:05 AM
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[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6f28f779a0bd.jpg[/atsimg]

Because the wedding was illegal and a secret, except to the invited guests, and because marriage rites in Rajasthan are often conducted late at night, it was well into the afternoon before the three girl brides in this dry farm settlement in the north of India began to prepare themselves for their sacred vows.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7a32b2bfd044.jpg[/atsimg]

They squatted side by side on the dirt, a crowd of village women holding sari cloth around them as a makeshift curtain, and poured soapy water from a metal pan over their heads. Two of the brides, the sisters Radha and Gora, were 15 and 13, old enough to understand what was happening. The third, their niece Rajani, was 5. She wore a pink T-shirt with a butterfly design on the shoulder. A grown-up helped her pull it off to bathe.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a2e4a5839a3b.jpg[/atsimg]
Although early marriage is the norm in her small Nepali village, 16-year-old Surita wails in protest as she leaves her family's home, shielded by a traditional wedding umbrella and carried in a cart to her new husband's village.

The grooms were en route from their own village, many miles away. No one could afford an elephant or the lavishly saddled horses that would have been ceremonially correct for the grooms' entrance to the wedding, so they were coming by car and were expected to arrive high-spirited and drunk. The only local person to have met the grooms was the father of the two oldest girls

Rajani was Mr. M's granddaughter, the child of his oldest married daughter. She had round brown eyes, a broad little nose, and skin the color of milk chocolate. She lived with her grandparents. Her mother had moved to her husband's village, as rural married Indian women are expected to do, and this husband, Rajani's father, was rumored to be a drinker and a bad farmer. The villagers said it was the grandfather, Mr. M, who loved Rajani most; you could see this in the way he had arranged a groom for her from the respectable family into which her aunt Radha was also being married.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c28c1294c809.jpg[/atsimg]

Child marriage spans continents, language, religion, caste. In India the girls will typically be attached to boys four or five years older; in Yemen, Afghanistan, and other countries with high early marriage rates, the husbands may be young men or middle-aged widowers or abductors who rape first and claim their victims as wives afterward, as is the practice in certain regions of Ethiopia.

Some of these marriages are business transactions, barely adorned with additional rationale: a debt cleared in exchange for an 8-year-old bride; a family feud resolved by the delivery of a virginal 12-year-old cousin. Those, when they happen to surface publicly, make for clear and outrage-inducing news fodder from great distances away. The 2008 drama of Nujood Ali, the 10-year-old Yemeni girl who found her way alone to an urban courthouse to request a divorce from the man in his 30s her father had forced her to marry, generated worldwide headlines and more recently a book, translated into 30 languages: I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.


Source: ngm.nationalgeographic.com...

I really don't know what to say other than I can't believe that in todays world this crap still goes on... no matter what country you're in. People do EVOLVE for pete's sake.

These men need to be tracked down and handled accordingly... by vigilante standards....

You have to read the whole artilce.. it's tough.. but please do. The more people that know about these abuses the sooner they can be stopped, I hope.

Poor children seem to always get the short end of the stick. And, especially females. Although I did hear in Afganistan they prefer young boys.

These kids will NEVER have a chance if they don't get outside help.

Good Job National Geograpic for bring this to light.

edit on 6/12/2011 by anon72 because: (no reason given)

edit on 6/12/2011 by anon72 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 08:28 AM
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reply to post by anon72
 


What a sick and sad story of the barbaric world we live in.
Its disgusting that things like this go on in these so called modern time's.
I fell sorry for these poor children and the future that they will be forced to live.
Im disgusted with every person, culture and religion that practices and condones such practices.

And i agree Anon, people like these that have child brides need to be dealt with in the harshest possible way.

S&F







edit on 12-6-2011 by meathed because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 08:46 AM
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Yes... BUT. You left out an important part of the article that gives me great hope:




[The father of the child brides] knew that if a nonbribable police officer found out what was under way, the wedding might be interrupted mid-ceremony, bringing criminal arrests and lingering shame to his family.


It isn't socially, politically, or religiously accepted. Any more than child polygamy in Utah is. Don't be too quick to throw stones...



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 09:11 AM
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is it just the age that bothers you
or are you equally enraged that
the marriages are arranged too



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 09:45 AM
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I will never understand why there are sooo many 'men' that feel they have to rape little girls and women. Where is the honor in this sick practice?
edit on 12-6-2011 by skindoc because: (no reason given)

edit on 12-6-2011 by skindoc because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 09:46 AM
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reply to post by anon72
 
The Middle-East doesn't include India.

Just wondering if you deliberately labelled it in middle-east forum to try & belittle the middle-east, with disinformation.


In India the girls


India is not the geographical middle-east. By deliberately placing this thread in said forum, it can only be construed as a deliberate at to descredit the peoples of the middle-east.

Yes child marriage is horrendous, but this sort of attempt to attack the people of the middle-east with a story based in India could be interpretted as racism.

The Middle East as you can see below does not list India.

Middle East
en.wikipedia.org...

Bahrain
Cyprus
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Gaza Strip
West Bank
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emerates
Yemen


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/42e9c1288667.jpg[/atsimg]

Greater Middle Eastern Countries

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Algeria
Mauritania
Western Sahara
Libya
Morocco
Sudan
Tunisia
Djibouti
Eritrea
Somalia
Comoros


Greater Middle East
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/902d7fa99ea1.png[/atsimg]
edit on 12-6-2011 by acrux because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 09:49 AM
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people beware judging too quickly what you do not understand.

first this is god damn sensationalist TV = you cannot take at face value

second i know for a fact that many many indian people that can chose their life ASK their parents to arrange a marriage for them; and that includes girls, that also includes Indian Girls living in the US or UK and sick with the western conception of love & marriage

now there are some problem with children being married too early, but none of you are qualified to be judge in those cases. and certainly not national geographic either.

mind your own business and leave the locals (because many of them are concerned indeed and have better understanding of situation and conditions) deal with those issues.
edit on 12-6-2011 by XmikaX because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 09:57 AM
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What gets me is folks that like to defend this sick crap. Look ...we ain't stupid, you don't need to come on this thread and post loop holes and mumbo jumbo about these sick monsters that prey on children.

Evil it is.
edit on 12-6-2011 by RUFFREADY because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 10:39 AM
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reply to post by RUFFREADY
 


yeah man let's do as usual, let's send team america to bomb them all...euh... to save them all u will say on da great 100% truth tv.

that's the best justice you can do anyway you yankees.



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 11:16 AM
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reply to post by anon72
 


We know that throughout history, children have served as a commodity, a business transaction. It is the same now... still, it is a very sad thing to treat children as such.



reply to post by XmikaX
 


What does America have to do with this thread?


edit on 12-6-2011 by LadySkadi because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 11:28 AM
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posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 12:09 PM
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posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 01:25 PM
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reply to post by acrux
 


The main story of the article takes place in india while the rest of the article listed various places in the middle east. So the placement of this article seems fair to me. And the rant is no more then what has already thought of afghan men who practice pedophilia on boys(notice I included full description rather then just saying "men" or "all men of afghan"). I mean, heck, go watch the movie Kite, sad story about boys being raped in afghan. So the OP's rant was straight to the point rather then precise. Main notice we should be taking is the article. OP's rant=little picture. Article=big picture.



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 03:23 PM
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reply to post by XmikaX
 


If it is all good by the locals standards then why do they to the marriages in the middle of the night? And are worried about being caught?

Doesn't sound to legit to me.



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 04:56 PM
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posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 05:09 PM
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I have told this story here before....somewhere, but it is worth repeating....

When I was 21 I lived with friends in Oxford England for a summer...Our neighbors were a bunch of families from Pakistan. There were about 5 families living in the house next to us. All the women were very young (younger than me) and there were tons of kids. They were very shy and rarely smiled....if at all. I spent much time with those women and the kids - my heart truly went out to them. They barely spoke English and really would just sit around and watch us and try and learn some English.

One day, a little girl showed up straight from Pakistan. I do not remember her name, but she was one of the most beautiful little girls I had ever seen. She was 9 turning 10. Very tiny with huge green eyes. Very shy and would barely lift her eyes from the ground. My friends and I played games with these kids and they would never leave our sides. They were very drawn to us....yet very shy and reserved.

A few days later my friends and I were invited to a wedding. At the time we had no idea who was getting married but it was a HUGE honor for us Christians to be attending this Muslim wedding. They obviously liked us, regardless of us being Christians (yes, they knew we were).

We went in a van with the women to a house on the other side of town. Went inside where there was a party going on. Lots of food, loud music and dancing......and kids everywhere. We were asked if we wanted to meet the bride. Of course we did! My friend and I (her husband was at another house with the men)....we walked upstairs into a bedroom and saw the bride.......and I immediately teared up. It was this precious tiny little 10yr old girl. I began to panic for her and felt very sick to my stomach. But what could I do? We were surrounded in a community of like minded people - Muslims - and we were the only "white Christians" anywhere and had no transportation except those who drove us. I could not just scream out stop....I could not just grab her and carry her away....I had no say in anything....I was a guest....and actually pretty stunned and spechless.

We politely smiled and she looked at us with fear on her face and watered eyes. We left that room, went to the wedding.....and that night cried for this little tiny girl....for we knew what lay ahead.

All those women we had befriended and chatted with for so long....they all had gone thru the same thing. It was normal and just part of their culture. The little girl who was so very shy was now married to an adult man. The man she married was 21.

This is a very very real part of their world. And it is a custom I shall never ever support.

Back then, if I was the person I am now...I would have called police. I would have tried to stop it. But I did nothing.....
edit on June 12th 2011 by greeneyedleo because: spelling...grammar, typos



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 05:48 PM
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The reflections of casual minds.

This was practiced here in the US. No, not recently. In rural areas, and when life was a tad bit shorter what would pan out is that a man would have to go and get his part of land started. He wouldn't marry until he had made a place for his family to live. When he was established he'd find him a young wife because older women wouldn't be able to bear the number of children needed to help work the piece of land he had. You made your own laborers back then. Get it...?

What if divine beings came down and found us disgusting because we even put a part of us inside another? It's not that I want a young bride. My truths are different. But one can think they are oh so grand passing out casual judgment upon another culture. IMHO women should not get married until they are 30 or so. Get some of that crazy Cinderella stuff out of their systems.



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 06:02 PM
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Originally posted by furzball
reply to post by acrux
 


The main story of the article takes place in india while the rest of the article listed various places in the middle east. So the placement of this article seems fair to me. And the rant is no more then what has already thought of afghan men who practice pedophilia on boys(notice I included full description rather then just saying "men" or "all men of afghan"). I mean, heck, go watch the movie Kite, sad story about boys being raped in afghan. So the OP's rant was straight to the point rather then precise. Main notice we should be taking is the article. OP's rant=little picture. Article=big picture.


Yes, and India, although not technically in the Mid-East, does have a large Muslim population, and there have been cross-currents of cultural influence between India and the Middle East.

To be fair, I should mention that the Hindus have also practiced child marriages (more in the past than present) -- as in this case mentioned in the OP -- these people have Hindu names, but they do not wear the tilik.

An upper caste, educated Hindu would be as appalled by this as most Westerners would be.

And I'm not getting into the Nepalese, Bhutanese, etc. It's true you can find child marriages all over the world, but it seems to be far more prevalent in areas dominated by Islam, than anywhere else.
edit on 12-6-2011 by AuranVector because: (no reason given)

edit on 12-6-2011 by AuranVector because: (no reason given)



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 06:14 PM
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Having read the article and the posts, there are a few things that can be stated:
The ultimate problem is not that this is happening, rather it is that it is ultimately a clash of cultures that is happening. We in the west, are raised with a certain sense of morality, what is right and wrong, and yet fail to understand the very culture that the people in the articles live under. While I do not support this action, at the same time a lack of understanding of the cultures that permit this is very disturbing. Consider this, in their eyes, we are decadent, and immoral, as of our lack of faith or as our customs would dictate. Many of what is written, is based around that of the Islamic world, and unfortunately, the only real way to change their perspective would be to approach them, not from a position of being superior, but that of perhaps on their level and work at the level where it lies with in the very hearts of the belief, the clerics. This is where most in the middle east, and India all lie, and ultimately would require edicts and ideas to flow from the mouths of the clerics and Hindu priests to change this from happening. It is wrong to push our sense of morality and culture on those who do not want such, just as it is equally wrong for them to expect us to follow their culture. Tolerance is and has to be a 2 way street. At the same time, we can not condemn the actions of these people, when you consider that in some countries, such as Thailand, men from the west are willing to travel to just to have sex with young children, and that too would need to stop. Until that stops, then we really are not in a position to take such a moral high ground. Anything else would be hypocrisy. The article is correct it is a world wide problem.



posted on Jun, 12 2011 @ 06:20 PM
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Originally posted by greeneyedleo
I have told this story here before....somewhere, but it is worth repeating....

[...]

All those women we had befriended and chatted with for so long....they all had gone thru the same thing. It was normal and just part of their culture. The little girl who was so very shy was now married to an adult man. The man she married was 21.

This is a very very real part of their world. And it is a custom I shall never ever support.

Back then, if I was the person I am now...I would have called police. I would have tried to stop it. But I did nothing.....


That's a very sad story, Greeneyed, worth re-telling. Don't beat yourself over the head. I don't know that it would have ended well for either you or the kid, if you had called the police. Was the child a British citizen? Would the child have been put into the child welfare system or deported? You can't really know what would have been worse.

And as for your fate, it would have been very dangerous for you. Islam is not about Love & Forgiveness.
You would have given the Muslim men an excuse to rape you for revenge. Could they get away with such a thing? You bet. You'd have to prove who the attackers were.




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