WHY DID MOHAMED MARRY A NINE YEAR OLD CHILD?
This article is not meant to vilify a people group in any way, but rather is a sincere question followed by a statement on why I do not believe in child marriage. Thank you for reading my opinion.
It is said that Mohamed had nine to thirteen wives or concubines. The wife that he was most fond of was Aisha, daughter of Abu-Bakr, who apparently was betrothed to him when she was six years old and their marriage was consummated when she was nine. She was one of his wives for the last nine years of his life.
Muhammad was somewhere in his early to mid fifties when he married her. This is very difficult for us to accept as Westerners.
Every year, 15 million girls marry before the age of 18. Child marriage is very offensive to western values. Why? Because we feel that by being married off too soon, a child's personal development and well-being is harmed. Child marriage is a violation of human rights that must stop to achieve a fairer future for all.
Any person experiences huge challenges if they are married off as children. Living with Isolation and having their freedom curtailed, girls often feel dis-empowered and deprived of their fundamental rights. Often health, education and safety are sacrificed by being married off as children.
Child wives are neither emotionally nor physically ready to fill the roll of wives and mothers, they face greater risks of experiencing dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, suffering domestic violence and in our times, even contracting HIV/AIDS. I am opposed to child marriage.
Shawn Stevens
REFERENCES
http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha
www.thespiritofislam.com/books/6-islam-muhmmad-quran/60-muhammad-wives.html