09/12/2026
🛑YEMEN: 13-Year-Old Girl Reportedly Dies Days After Child Marriage😭
A 13-year-old Yemeni girl, Elham Assi, has reportedly died from severe internal bleeding just three days after being married to a man said to be at least twice her age.
Reports allege that the child suffered serious injuries following abuse by her husband, Abed al-Hikmi, who was later arrested. A doctor who treated her reportedly warned that she needed time to recover, but a later forensic examination allegedly revealed even more extensive injuries.
This heartbreaking case has renewed urgent calls to end child marriage in Yemen, where poverty, conflict, social pressure, and weak legal protections continue to place many girls at risk.
Child marriage is not tradition when it destroys a child’s health, education, safety, and future. Girls deserve protection, dignity, education, and the freedom to make decisions about their own lives when they are adults.
No child should be forced into marriage or exposed to violence because of poverty, family pressure, or harmful social norms. Strong laws—and real enforcement—are urgently needed to protect girls in Yemen, across Africa, and around the world.
