i am nujood - book club

It's a jarring title: I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.

When it was announced that the Silicon Valley Moms Group had chosen this book for the June book club, I signed right up.

When the book arrived in the mail, it sat for awhile because I was reading another book. My daughter was fascinated by it. She even brought it to school to show her teacher. I have no idea if her teacher looked through it or wondered why on earth I would let my nine-year old daughter carry around such a book.

It's the memoir of a 9-year old Yemeni girl who is married off to a 30-year old man, mostly so that her unemployed father can receive a dowry for her, as he has a large family (two actually) to support.

Nine years old.

The same age as my beautiful, innocent daughter.

She is raped, beaten and mistreated. She is moved far from her home and basically kept as a prisoner in her mother-in-law's home. And the shocking thing about it all is that no one in her socio-economic culture finds it odd. Or wrong. Or horrific.

She eventually seeks and receives a divorce from the Yemeni court system - the first case of its kind.

It's the kind of story I'd like to shelter my daughter from. She is too young. She lives a far more protected type of life. She doesn't have to worry about these things.

And yet, I am raising a citizen of the world. Not just of my own neighborhood. She DOES need to learn these things. She does need to know that OUR life, with rights for women and a childhood for children, is a rather unique in the community of the world.

Most children growing up in poverty are not able to be children at age 9. They are working or begging for their families. Or even, being married off. As much as I would like to shelter her from this knowledge, she must know it. And who better to feel the depths of that injustice than a child?

The book is heavy, but is written in language that is appropriate for teens and perhaps older preteens. I don't think I will let my 9-year old read it, but I did tell her the story. We talked about women and rights, poverty and education, marriage and equality.

My daughter's life is light years away from Nujood's. And for that, I am grateful. And yet, I believe it is important that she hear the story and let it shape her.

I have many dreams for my 9-year old. And just one of them is that she will change the world.

Come on over to the book club and join in on the discussion.

(Disclosure: I received a complementary copy of the book from the publisher. I am under no obligation to write about it and all opinions expressed are my own.)