More than seven years ago, Fatima Al-Saadi, a student who was superior to all her peers, was only a victim of the minor’s marriage, her dreams were quickly dispelled, after she left school and forced by her family to marry early, so her marriage later turned into a hell that ended in divorce.
Fatima (25 years), from the city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, lived a difficult life, after her family made a decision to agree to her marriage while she is still a student in the fifth grade, despite her academic excellence and her desire to be a doctor.
I was disappointed, Fatima says, after I left school and went to my husband’s house forced, I don’t know how to start my life from there and I put all my thinking into school, and how can I return despite the fact that one of the conditions of marriage is leaving me to school.
Facing challenges
Fatima had no way to protest or refuse, other than to submit to the de facto situation and not to object to her family’s decision, but she managed to persuade her husband to return to school two years after the marriage.
She added during her talk to Al-Jazeera Net that my husband’s approval was conditional, that I graduate from prep and stop, but the results of the exams showed that I got a rate of 99% and the first on school, which raised the level of challenge and confrontation, starting with my husband and his family, and the child who gave birth to him and the difficulty of studying At medical school, after my husband chose me between him and the study, I chose my studies without hesitation.
Like Fatima, thousands of girls who marry minors are married in all Iraqi governorates, where divorce, suicide and crime rates are increasing, and judicial experts confirm that early marriage is one of the reasons for this.
Fatima says that her family was feeling the mistake of leaving her for her marriage and returning to study, but this view has changed and turned from refusal to great support, after she was admitted to the College of Dentistry, the main support came from her mother, who stood beside her all the time.
After a scientific trip that she spent studying at the College of Dentistry, she finally graduated this year, to be a doctor preparing to enroll in health institutions in her city of Karbala.
Humanitarian activist
Fatima did not stop at the completion of her studies, but she appeared in many humanitarian activities and events with international organizations, inside Iraq, according to what was confirmed by her colleague Maryam Ibrahimi.
Brahimi adds to Al-Jazeera Net that she met Fatima in the first period after her divorce, and she saw how she did not stop, but entered and worked in various fields and formed a volunteer team.
It is also an example of a successful woman, says Maryam, where she creates the challenge on her own and without waiting for anyone’s support, and Fatima’s success upsets many in society who view the woman negatively.
Early and underage marriage is one of the biggest reasons for divorce in Iraq, in addition to other important reasons such as the economic situation.
According to statistics of the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq, it revealed 73 thousand divorces in 2018, in various cities of Iraq, topped the list with Baghdad.
According to government statistics, divorce rates are expected to rise until 2020 to one million divorces, which is a dangerous indicator, according to observers and experts in the field of law.
