I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank warmly all those men and women who opened their doors to us, allowing us to tell Nujood’s story so that she can be an example to other girls and encourage them to demand their rights.

We would particularly like to thank Shada Nasser, Nujood’s lawyer, as well as the judges of the court in Sana’a: Judge Mohammad al-Ghazi, Judge Abdo, and Judge Abdel Wahed.

A big thank-you to the entire staff of the Yemen Times, and especially to their editor in chief, Nadia Abdulaziz al-Saqqaf, and to their former reporter, Hamed Thabet, who is currently serving as the political advisor to the German Embassy in Sana’a.

We are infinitely grateful to Husnia al-Kadri, director of women’s affairs at the University of Sana’a, who helped us with her research into the question of early marriage in Yemen.

Our conversations with the personnel of Oxfam, and with Wameedh Shakir and Souha Bashren in particular, were also of great assistance to us.

Thanks are owed to Njala Matri, the principal of the local school in the Sana’a neighborhood of Rawdha, who allowed Nujood to return to the classroom and continue her studies.

We would like to express our profound gratitude to Eman Mashour, without whom this book would never have been published. Her support for the cause of women’s rights in Yemen, her patience, and her talents as a translator were of considerable help to us.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank Borzou Daragahi for his moral support and his enthusiasm for the writing of this book.

Hyam Yared, Martine Minoui, and Chloé Radiguet kindly agreed to be the first readers of these pages. Thank you for your help!

And finally, we are infinitely indebted to Ellen Knickmeyer, who brought us together in the first place.

This book is dedicated to Arwa, Rym, and all the little Yemeni girls who dream of freedom.

DELPHINE MINOUI AND NUJOOD ALI