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    I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
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    I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
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    I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
    Audiobook3 hours

    I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

    Written by Nujood Ali and Delphine Minoui

    Narrated by Meera Simhan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "I'm a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no."
     
    Nujood Ali's childhood came to an abrupt end in 2008 when her father arranged for her to be married to a man three times her age. With harrowing directness, Nujood tells of abuse at her husband's hands and of her daring escape. With the help of local advocates and the press, Nujood obtained her freedom-an extraordinary achievement in Yemen, where almost half of all girls are married under the legal age. Nujood's courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has inspired other young girls in the Middle East to challenge their marriages.

    Hers is an unforgettable story of tragedy, triumph, and courage.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 2, 2010
    ISBN9780307712561
    Unavailable
    I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

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    Reviews for I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

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    • 5/5
      I am Nugood, Age 10 and Divorced is the true story of Nujood Ali (as told to Delphine Minoui).

      By the age of 10, this young girl from Yemen had been given in marriage by her own father to a man three times her age. He promised not to be with her sexually until after one year after she started her period, but he did not keep this promise. When Nujood tried to resist him, he began beating her.

      After a few months, the only refuge she found was on the rare opportunity that her husband let her visit home. It was on one of these visits that she decided to try to get a divorce.

      This book offers a peek into Yemen and a surprising look at practices that you may not know still occur today. The story was not told to criticize the culture, but to shine the light on one girl’s sad story. This is something that none of us can image happening to our own daughters. It wasn’t told in a sensationalist way. Most importantly, it is an inspiring look at the courage of a young girl to fight against that which she knew was wrong.

      Her story has attracted worldwide attention and has been translated into 16 languages. She was named to be a Woman of the Year in 2008 by Glamour magazine, alongside others such as Hillary Clinton.

      Because of her courageous act, other young girls are speaking out, and countries are even making laws to protect girls who should never be forced to marry.

      In spite of a few difficult passages, this is an inspiring and eye-opening story told in Nujood’s own words. It’s a short easy read that would interest women and teens as well.

      Nujood’s proceeds for the book are financing her and her sister’s education, and will hopefully help Nujood achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer so that she can help other girls.
    • 2/5
      This was an interesting book and I admired Nujood's courage to fight against the circumstances she found herself in, but I didn't really like the way the book was written. I never really warmed to Nujood and the whole story felt rushed and lacking detail.
    • 4/5
      Really good book. Nujood, a young Muslim girl living in Yemen was married as a 10-year-old to a man much older than she. Nujood describes her abusive marriage and the steps she took to seek a divorce. She was the first girl granted a divorce. I really like learning about other cultures and it is humbling to read about the struggles other people face.
    • 3/5
      Very sad story, the lives of women and children in so many places on earth aren't worth a plug nickle. They are invisible, disposible and have no say in anything in their lives. Time magazine voted Afghanistan the worst place on earth to be a woman, there are other places that rival it.
    • 5/5
      A 10 year old Yemeni girl tells of her life before and after her marriage to a man three times her age. She finds the courage to ask the court for a divorce, giving hope and courage to many other girls suffering the same plight.
    • 4/5
      Memoir of a Yemani girl who is sold in marriage at age 8. She takes it upon herself to find a courthouse and ask to see a judge to ask for a divorce. A very brave young woman to do something like this. I read most of this in one sitting. A simple read. I think teen girls interested in world affairs and womens rights would find this very interesting.
    • 3/5
      This little book is definitely worth reading for understanding the enslavement of women (and girls!) in Nujood's culture. It is not well written but "the story tells itself". This brave little girl has shone a light on the shameful violence perpetrated against women in some parts of the world and she deserves to be heard as a representative of these enslaved souls.
    • 4/5
      Nujood's story, simply and devastatingly told, reveals a tragedy that is all too common in countries like Yemen (and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, etc.) where women and girls are treated more as property than as human beings. Fortunately Nujood's story is more positive; she was able to get a divorce from the older man she was forced to marry. She is by no means out of the woods though, and I hope, as she dreams to do, she eventually finishes school and becomes a lawyer. What a brave girl.
    • 4/5
      Powerful memoir.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of a girl in Yemen named Nujood. Her father married her off at age nine to a man three times her age. It tells about her short-lived, frightening marriage, and the successful divorce with the help of the courts and a lawyer who didn't charge her anything.It's a very inspiring story, and I really felt for Nujood. She's a brave girl, and I'm really glad that her story is shedding some light on this issue. Of course, I wish she'd never had to go through that, but her courage is helping other girls.It's horrible that child marriage happens all over the world, and laws aren't enough to deter people from it. There's a lot behind it, including cultural customs and sometimes what the family thinks is the girl's best welfare. Nujood's father claimed he wanted to protect her from some of the things her older sisters had gone through, and the men agreed the husband wouldn't touch her before she hit puberty, but that wasn't upheld. In the end, her father and brothers were more angry with Nujood for bringing shame on their family than glad she was getting out of that relationship. I don't want to judge them too harshly - I'm glad they didn't react to Nujood with violence.The writing wasn't stellar, and I don't know who the "blame" goes to. I'm assuming Nujood told her story to Delphine Minoui, who wrote the original manuscript in French. Perhaps it was the translator. The narrative kept using cliches like "flying off the handle" and "on the spot" and others. Since it was a first person narrative, it took me out of Nujood's voice, since I'm sure she wouldn't say things like that in Arabic. There was also a lot of weird tense changes. It didn't get in the way of the story, though, which was very inspiring and also heartbreaking.
    • 2/5
      I really wanted to like this book but I felt that it needed so much more. I mean, it was her story but it was so short and such light reading. I finished the book in 2 hours. There could have been so much more background into the culture of a society that married their girls off at age 9. There was so much co-author influence in the book that I had a hard time believing in some of the statements made by Nujood. Is that really the way a 9 year old thinks?
    • 4/5
      Nujood was a simple village girl, enjoying playing with friends and going to school. Her life as she knew it came to an end in 2008 when her father agreed to a marriage proposal from a man three times Nujood?s age.She tells her story in first person; beginning in the middle of the tale, the chapters alternate between the beginning of the end and her past. The reader is given a picture of her life in Yemen, living in the country in prosperity with her mother, father, and fifteen siblings. Life changes; she describes a life of poverty in the capital city. Her family undergoes several upheavals, which at her young age she does not understand. And then comes her marriage. This young girl, a ten year old child, receives no support through her ordeal from her family or her in-laws. Finally she acts on her own, seeking a divorce. I found the book spellbinding. I did not want to put it down. The story flows back and forth in a very comfortable way. Her courage was amazing. I highly recommend this book from the 2012 list under Nurturing for the Community. Lisa Shipley
    • 4/5
      Picked this up while browsing at Borders the other day. Haven't finished it as I'm waiting for it from the library now. The title caught my eye right away : I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.. This type of thing goes on a lot in Yemen, Ethiopia, etc.. It is so sad to see these little girls being forced to marry at age 9 and 10.
    • 2/5
      Nujood Ali a girl who was taken out of school and sold off to become the wife of a man three times her age. After suffering abuse, both psysically and mentally, from her husband she decides she needs to get a divorce - something quite unheard of in Yemeni culture. My rating is nothing against what Nujood went through, by all means I think she suffered terribly. Nobody should have to go through such abuse. Her experience, I found, was one of courage and strength.I found the book lacking so much. I cannot say that I noticed any shift in authorial voice. The forward and epilogue, solely written by Minoui, sounded almost identical to the authorial voice of what should have been the story in Nujood's voice. I find it hard to believe that a highly impoverished, preliterate 10 year old would use such phrases as "notorary, tribal protocol". In fact I can't imagine many people would use such phrases.There didn't seem to be much story revolving around her divorce. It seemed to jump from the moment she arrived at the courthouse to ask for a divorce and being told that it was an unprecedented case to her having a hearing and, voila, her being granted a divorce. What happened in between all of that? I can't believe that it was as straight forward, or as easy, as that. What was her relationship like with her family after her divorce? She had after all had her father temporarily put in prison. Did any of the family dynamics change? Was she treated any differently? The characters didn't feel very developed and it was hard to have much sympathy for some of the things they went through as a whole. What really happened to her elder sisters? Did one of them willingly commit adultery or was she raped and then ultimately imprisoned due to Sharia Law? This book just wreaks of Nujood being used. I wonder if she regrets having her story told this way or if she'll evenrually regret it in the future. If nothing else it bought a lot of unwanted notoriety to her family that come from a culture that value honour above all else.For me although the this was a moving and powerful story but the main issue of child marriages was barely skimmed over. A very inspirational young woman but a very average memoir.
    • 2/5
      This book is the story of Nujood Ali, the first child bride in Yemen to be awarded a divorce. Her story is sad and powerful, and she demonstrated a lot of courage seeking out the divorce without any support from her family, but I didn't like the way the book was written.

      The book is told from the first person perspective of Nujood, written with the help of a journalist. I'm not sure how much of he book is actually direct quotes from Nujood, how much is the journalist's attempt to capture the voice of a ten year old, and how much is the voice of the translator, but I often felt like I was reading a strange Baby Sitters Club book. The writing is painstakingly shallow, but not in a way that captures the voice of a ten year old. Then there are these strange moments in the book where Nujood speaks with an unnatural level of insight and maturity that just don't seem to fit with a ten year old girl, no matter what she's been through.

      I think the book would have been much better if told from a third person objective perspective, with excerpts from Nujood in first person througtout the book. I suppose the actual style in which it is written has mass market appeal: it is short and easy to read and able to get the story out to wide audiences, and thus hopefully able to raise awareness and support for her cause.
    • 3/5
      In 2008, Nujood's father married ten-year-old Nujood to a man in his thirties in exchange for a dowry. Nujood was taken to live with her new husband and his family in a remote village. He repeatedly raped her and when she sought protection from her husband's family was beaten. She finally convinces her husband to take her to visit her parents, who do nothing to help her, so she goes, on her own, to the courts and seeks help. It was a famous case in Yemen at the time, and Nujood became the first child bride to be granted a divorce. Her story, as told here, reads as though it is a young adult book, but it may be because she is so young. Regardless, it is an interesting glimpse of life in a country where 14% of girls are married before age 15 and 52% before they are 18. One of the things that I found most interesting was that Nujood refused offers of refuge and an education abroad and chose to continue to live with her family, including her father who was brought up on charges during the divorce trial.
    • 3/5
      Although the book is about a child, its content and themes will move teen readers (adults as well, although the voice is more youthful; Delphine Minoui co-wrote but it's Nujood's voice). Child and sexual abuse, children's rights, women's rights...there is much to outrage and inspire. GIven the entrenched tribal and cultural values, Nujood's determination to escape went beyond mere rebellion. I can see this as a lively book group discussion for youth.
    • 4/5
      Nujood, a young girl living in Yemen, recounts her horrifying experience of becoming a child bride to an abusive older man, and her brave quest to obtain a divorce in a country where women's rights are almost non-existent.
    • 4/5
      The story of the 10 year old Yemeni girl who got a divorce. A simple book which combines the viewpoint of a 10 year old who just wants to remain a child, with the tragedy of poverty, ignorance, lack of education and the fate of many young girls who are married off before they even reach puberty. I was riveted by this story and the courage of a 10 year old girl in a Muslim society where women and girls have little rights. Yet she had the courage to stand up for herself and go to court and ask for a divorce. She changed her life with an act of tremendous courage and the lives of many young girls in her country and others. Unfortunately, the book was poorly edited, but if you can get beyond that it's well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      I am struggling to write a review that will do any justice to this true story. While all I want to say is "wow" I know that is not good enough.Nujood Ali was just 10 years old and living with her family in Yemen when her father arranged a marriage for her to a man 3 times her age. Laws in Yemen at the time said that you had to be 15 years old to marry but customs among villages were marrying off their children as young as 7 and 8.Nujood finds herself at age 10 married and not having even reached puberty at the mercy of a man who had promised not to touch her until one year after she reached puberty. On her wedding night he shows his true colors and intentions and forces himself upon her and begins a nightly reign of terror that she endures for several months. Realizing she can not continue to go through this she bravely goes to the courts in Yemen and asks for a divorce.This story is full of things that people do not speak of, things we don't want to hear or read about. While this may be a practice in other countries it is definitely not a practice in the United States. For that I am grateful. I would never want to feel that this is ok and a way of life. Even if you don't have children it will make you sick to read about what Nujood and other young girls go through. I applaud this child for having the courage to stand up and say "this is not right" and "I deserve better". While she has done something no other child had done before her it was not without risk. She went against tribal laws, she shamed her father and her husband. She will always run the risk of some radical vowing retribution. I read all 183 pages in one sitting as I couldn't put it down. The book is well written and allows the reader to experience, through her words, what life is like in another part of the world. It dares to bring to the forefront an ugly practice that is generally not on public display. There is a tribal proverb "To guarantee a happy marriage, marry a nine-year-old girl." In my heart, mind, body and soul it makes me sick and angry to think any human could be that vulgar.Bravo to Nujood her own faith and resilience are remarkable.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of a girl in Yemen named Nujood. Her father married her off at age nine to a man three times her age. It tells about her short-lived, frightening marriage, and the successful divorce with the help of the courts and a lawyer who didn't charge her anything.It's a very inspiring story, and I really felt for Nujood. She's a brave girl, and I'm really glad that her story is shedding some light on this issue. Of course, I wish she'd never had to go through that, but her courage is helping other girls.It's horrible that child marriage happens all over the world, and laws aren't enough to deter people from it. There's a lot behind it, including cultural customs and sometimes what the family thinks is the girl's best welfare. Nujood's father claimed he wanted to protect her from some of the things her older sisters had gone through, and the men agreed the husband wouldn't touch her before she hit puberty, but that wasn't upheld. In the end, her father and brothers were more angry with Nujood for bringing shame on their family than glad she was getting out of that relationship. I don't want to judge them too harshly - I'm glad they didn't react to Nujood with violence.The writing wasn't stellar, and I don't know who the "blame" goes to. I'm assuming Nujood told her story to Delphine Minoui, who wrote the original manuscript in French. Perhaps it was the translator. The narrative kept using cliches like "flying off the handle" and "on the spot" and others. Since it was a first person narrative, it took me out of Nujood's voice, since I'm sure she wouldn't say things like that in Arabic. There was also a lot of weird tense changes. It didn't get in the way of the story, though, which was very inspiring and also heartbreaking.
    • 2/5
      I feel terrible for not giving this more stars but..... I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure if it was the subject or the writing or a combination of both but it lost me from the beginning
    • 4/5
      This story was seriously heart-breaking. It shows what can happen in a community or people group that doesn't have the light of God in any capacity. People behave like animals and treat each other as such. The only true hope for the girl in this story and others in this community is found in Jesus.

      The author was born into a poor Muslim family in Yemen. They struggled for their daily food. One of her older siblings ran away to Saudi Arabia. Another married a man whilst still in her teens. This man then had an affair with the author's older sister resulting in the sister and the man being thrown into jail and potentially facing the death penalty for adultery.

      The family then in crisis financially, the father decides to marry off the author who is aged just 10 years old to a man three times her age. She accompanies this man to his community which is cut off from any outside contact making it impossible for her to run away. He had promised her family not to engage in sexual relations prior to a certain age but immediately breaks his promise and forces himself on her. She finally convinces him to allow her to visit her family and whilst there runs away and does something that has never been done before--she goes directly to a Judge and requests a divorce!

      Reading this tragic story made me so grateful that I wasn't born into that situation or that community. I was reminded that it is only by the grace of God that it was not me dealing with this. The desperation of the parents when they fell on hard times comes through and the children carried a lot of the burden. The cultural traditions and norms that we consider abhorrent were practiced widely. It was normal for a child of that age to be married although legally not permitted until the age of 15 (now 17 partly due to this case.) The girls had no choice and were made completely powerless and helpless because their families went along with it. In this case they had even arranged it for money. The people that as children we rely on to protect us were the ones placing this child into the path of danger. How terrible when there is no one to turn to and no one you can trust.

      There is no bad language in this book. There is obviously sexual violence which wasn't as graphic as I had feared it might be. This is only suitable for adult readers. This is definitely eye opening.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book was the story of Nujood, aged 10 and living in the Yemen, a Muslim country, who was brave enough to go to the courts in the capital and ask the judges to grant her a divorce. That is such an amazing feat, I am sure I can barely imagine the courage this girl had.

      Nujood, who had just one year of schooling, lived in a very poor family that sometimes had to beg for food, and was sold for $750 to a man in his thirties who promised, so the father said, that he wouldn't touch her until she reached puberty. But he did, he raped and beat her repeatedly, and his own mother egged him on. In Islam, because Mohammed, aged 52, married a child of 9, this early marriage and sex is considered perfectly ok.

      She found sympathetic judges and a wonderful, feminist lawyer and eventually, her father and husband in prison more so she could be safe than anything else, she got her divorce and world-wide attention. Since women are essentially possessions, a contract signed between the father and the husband transferring the 'property' wasn't so easy to break, but Nujood remained strong through the long legal arguments.

      Along with Hillary Clinton, who called her 'the bravest woman I've ever met' and Nicole Kidman she was Glamor's 2008 Woman of the Year. She's 13 now, and going to school. She wears jeans and t-shirts and barettes in her hair, the black robes and niqab (veil) she found so stifling cast off.

      Inspired by her several little girls, forcibly married at 9, have come forward to get divorces themselves. Its a beginning. And she has made a real difference: the age for marriage is now 17 in Yemen, one hopes it is enforced, but I don't have major faith in that. As long as women are possessions, the contract - the bill of sale - between father and husband will remain more important that the actual marriage where there is no real contract as the girl is neither old enough in law to give her consent, nor is even required to do so.

      The book is a fast read, a story very simply told, its filled-in reportage, rather than an in-depth story, but that doesn't lessen the message or appeal of the book at all. It doesn't matter if you know the story, its still an unputdownable book - I read it without stopping until I finished it.

      Recommended for the whole wide world to rejoice in her courage and to tell ourselves that we will probably never face anything so daunting in our lives, if she could face her fears and do it, so could we.

    • 3/5
      Najood Ali is, at 10, married off to a man 3x her age. She is raped and beaten by her husband. She escapes to the big city, finds the civil court, and applies for a divorce. Aided by many, including a sympathetic female attorney and judge, she becomes the first woman to win a divorce in Yemen history. Sadly, this compelling tale is a so-so read.
    • 5/5
      great book. Any time you're feeling like life has treated you poorly, read this and think about what it'd be like to be married at 10 years old. It was a short book and left a lot unanswered but, hey, it's a 10 yr old girl! can't expect much more (yet)
    • 4/5
      A relatively short book about Nujood's life and how she was married at the age of 10 to an abusive man, and filed for divorce.It's really a more an amazing story when you read it than it sounds like in a summary. Not that her situation is unique, but it takes a strong will and intelligence to get herself out of it at such a young age.You're reading the story through so many filters though, that it's hard to know how genuine every detail is. She didn't write the story by herself. I don't think she even wrote the story herself. I suspect it was more a series of interviews. And I know nothing about the woman whose name is also on the byline. What country is she from?Added on top of that, the book was then translated into English. So when I see words that I really don't think a 10 year old would use, how do I know who put that word there? Does it sound more like a 10 year old in the original?I would be interested in seeing if Nujood writes her own story, in her own words, once she's older.
    • 3/5
      I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced is a heartbreaking book about the treatment of women in Yemen. Very well written, I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced tells the story of a 10 year old girl forced into an abusive relationship. Determined to free herself from her husband's grasp, Nujood seeks help. She turns to the courts for justice and meets a sympathetic lawyer who is determined to see that Nujood is taken away from her husband's evil grasp. I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced is a sad, but happy, interesting, but disgusting story. It is simply written and very informative regarding the Muslim culture. The most shocking element of the story is how different the Muslim culture is from the American culture.
    • 5/5
      This book tells the story of a young girl named Nujood Ali whose father forces her to marry as a young adolescent. Nujood escapes from her husband and seeks the help of a lawyer, Shada Nasser, to receive a divorce. This book tells her heart breaking tale that ends in triumph. Math teachers can have students research the currency used in Yemen. Students can research how much particular items cost in Yemen. Students can then research the American exchange rate for the items. Geography teachers can have students locate Yemen on a map. Students can then find the different places mentioned in the book such as Hajja and Sana’a. Students can then track Nujood’s journey. History teachers can have students learn about the laws and customs in Yemen. English teachers can have students create a glossary of Yemen terms that were used in the book. Students can also research information on Nujood being named a “Woman of the Year” by Glamour. Teachers can also have students journal on any of the reading group questions located in the back of the book. The author uses any easy style because it is told from a young girl’s perspective. It follows a chronological order, with the exception of the first chapter which focuses on the start of the court case. The author includes a table of contents, an epilogue, acknowledgments, notes, and a reading group guide with possible questions for students to discuss. The author also includes a page with information on how to help girls that are like Nujood. This story is captivating and a great read for all students. I would highly recommend this book to any teacher or librarian.
    • 4/5
      Nujood's story is horrifying. Married off by her father at the age of 10(ish...Nujood is unsure of exactly how old she is), Nujood's husband rapes and beats her, with the blessing of his own family. Her parents aren't willing to help her; her father talks about his honor being tarnished if she leaves her husband, while her mother feels helpless to do anything except say that she misses Nujood but she is married now. It is Nujood's father's second wife who tells her that she needs to go to the court to get a divorce, and, somehow, Nujood finds the courage to do so. Even more amazing, the court agrees with her and grants her the divorce.The book is quite short (I read it in about an hour) and there isn't a lot of detail. The co-author apparently decided to give the narrative a more child-like feel to it, which is both good (it gives the reader a perspective of just how young Nujood is) and bad (it is short and sparse). I would have enjoyed reading more about Nujood's family, as well as placing the story in a broader context (how common is it for this to happen in Yemen? Why? Is it a tribal custom that has been adopted into widespread usage or are the reasons used to support such a barbaric practice more religious in nature? What is the state of women's rights in Yemen, especially when it comes to city vs country? Etc...). It's absolutely horrible to realize that this is happening to girls out there right now. Still, this is a very important tale that needs to be told. Nujood's marriage, and subsequent divorce, is already impacting others - both in the West and in her own country, where other girls who were forced into similar situations were emboldened enough to seek their own divorces. Recommended.