Hameeda, 15, was married to Saqib, 30, in a small ceremony in a small village in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of northern Pakistan.
Hameeda, who had only recently stopped playing house with her dolls, is now running a household of her own and is on her way to becoming a mother.
“My husband works as a driver in United Arab Emirates while I stay in the village with my in-laws. He visits during Eid holidays only,” she said, referring to annual Muslim holidays that follow the fasting month of Ramadan.
“One day I will also visit him by taking an airplane,” she said as her face lit up.
Hameeda is one of more than 1 million child brides in Pakistan despite laws meant to make it illegal for girls to marry before age 16. A bill in Parliament would raise the minimum age to 18, but it faces opposition by religious conservatives. This time, however, child advocates say something has to be done. [The Washington Times] Read more
