A Father Sells His Daughter To His Landlord To Pay His Debts
Al Mada Newspaper ^ | 06 JUN 2009 | Jafar Al Wanan

Posted on Sunday, June 07, 2009 4:27:12 AM by BCW

I Had To Pay Rent - 44yr old Ali Jabar, the father of an 11yr old girl was going through financial difficulties. A month ago, Jabar’s landlord asked him for the rent… but he was unable to pay him. So, in order to ‘lessen the pressure’, Jabar was forced the allow his Landlord to marry his daughter. Jabar said, “It is not something that is easy to do, but I had no choice. I feel like I have sold my daughter.

I will never forgive myself for doing this. It is not easy losing sleep over something you have done. I believe that it was the only solution to my problem. It was either that or be evicted - which forces the whole family to live on the street.”

Tragic Examples - 10yr old Hiba said that her marriage failed because her husband did not understand her and treated her badly. She said that she was forced into marriage for financial reasons and that she had no knowledge of what marriage actually means.

11yr old Sama Zuhair said that her father forced her to marry a man 20 years older than her as punishment for failing in school. She said that her father’s intention was to get rid of her so that he could marry another woman. Sama’s mother as killed in a bombing in the Amriya area.

Legal Point Of View - Karada Court Judge, Hamid Al Jabiri said, “Usually, marriage occurs between two adults, but Shariya approves the marriage of minors. (According to different leaders of Islam 9 is ok, 5 is ok, a toddler is acceptable for legal Sharia marriage, some even say a baby can get married. The intent here is straight out of the Babylonian Talmud in these kind of marriages what is coveted and greatly desired by Conservative Muslims and Convervative Jews alike is to marry and have sex with prepubesent children as they are “NOT DEFILED, by having periods. When the children of these barbaric marriage reaches puberty many are cast aside. The Muslim male divorces then sexually damaged 9-12 year old child – who then is untouched by all Muslim men as being unclean [Leaking bladders, broken from beatings, disfigured in horrific manners and are left to beg and fend for themselves and sometimes their offspring] No greater evil is there then to women and their daughters under Islam and Sharia Law. Article after article on this website chronicles these heartless, cruel, and evil practices regardless of what nation Conservative Muslims come to dwell in.) The legal issue lies in whether or not the marriage contract meets all the requirements. There is no legal age for marriage, and the issue is left up to the judge’s discretion.

However, the girl’s opinion must be heard, along with that of her mother and those who are involved in the contract. (In Article after article we see that the daughter is coerced by threats of her death, the death of her siblings, or the death of her parents. Likewise the parents are threatened with death or jail if they do not consent. Note also in Islam in court under Sharia law a woman only has one have of a vote, it takes two women to equal one males testimony and in crimes of rape, incest, and adultery a woman has to have seven witnesses for a man to be convicted of such attacks and crimes. Making it virtually impossible for a woman to receive justice) If the marriage causes no harm, then it is ok. However, if it causes any harm to any of the parties involved, it is considered illegal.

Social Advisor at Mustansiriya University, Saman Ali said, “The phenomenon of marrying minors involves ‘physically raping them’. A girl involved in an early marriage will miss out on her childhood. It will also make her an aggressive mother.”

The Court’s Decision - It is worthy to mention that the Karada court ordered that the marriage of 8yr old Najlaa Mohammed Ali be revoked after two months. Najlaa was involved in a ‘religious marriage’ (a cleric conducts the ceremony rather than the court). Her family was forced to pay a $250 fine (An impossible amount of money for a poor family in Muslim nations to pay) as compensation for damages to the 30yr old husband. (So here in Sharia Law the sexual predator is rewarded with 250 dollars and two months of free sex with a child – Imagine the outrage here in the US, or the UK of these kind of things occurring. – Yet this very thing as well as honor killings occur daily all over the US and UK in Muslim enclaves where Sharia Law and Conservative Islam are practices out of the scruitiny of the public and law enforcement.)

Medical Warnings - A Health Ministry committee warns that early marriage causes physical and mental damage to young girls and their children. The committee published a report in which they said that girls who are impregnated at an early age have many health problems because their bodies are not ready for pregnancy. These girls experience complications with their menstrual cycle, birth defects, premature birth, miscarriages, and calcium deficiency. On the psychological side, the girls may suffer from emotional problems from the ‘lack of parental love’, hysteria, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, psychological disturbances, and sexual trauma with their husbands.

Dangerous Results - Other than all of the emotional problems that these girls might have, there is also the problem of adapting to their surroundings. They might have a problem in understanding responsibility and marriage. This may lead to drug/alcohol addiction.

The committee strongly warned that, if these girls become pregnant, their children will be born with serious problems… such as incomplete organs. The children themselves might suffer from the same problems that their mothers have. Therefore, the committee agrees on the fact that early marriage leads to health and mental problems thus increasing disease in the community and placing an additional load on the Iraqi health system.

Special Opinions - Specialists believe that poverty causes many families to offer their daughters to older men - not to mention the other ‘darker’ reasons.

On the flip side of this coin, Iraq abides to many of the UN regulations concerning children’s rights. In accordance with the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iraq considers every person who is not over 18 to be a child [but it’s still ok to marry them].