Early Marriage

Whoever follows news on Yemen will regularly come past an article about early marriage. Some call it child marriage. According to Human Rights Watch, some 14% of Yemeni girls marries before the age of 15, and about half before the age of 18. Activists now want a law that sets the minimum age for marriage at 18.

However, this may not be right for everyone in this country. True, to marry off a girl that is herself still a child is, at least, questionable. But why not set the minimum age at 15 or 16? Think about the countryside, where more than 70% of the Yemenis live. People there tend sheep, plant grains, coffee, or qat, gather fire-wood, milk their cows, etc. etc. Activists say that girls who marry early are deprived of education. But do farmers really need a secondary school education? Or is basic education sufficient for their lives? And anyway, most village children don't even have access to a secondary school. So, if a girl of 15 or 16 is mature enough to help run a household, why wouldn't she get married?

Things may be different in the city, but we should still keep in mind that people should have freedom in their personal lives. Moreover, if the minimum age were set at 15 or 16, this doesn't mean that the girl cannot marry at age 18 or older! The law should only aim at avoiding harm, and leave the rest up to the people themselves.

-----

... and what is a child anyway? When I was 15, I worked as a cashier in a supermarket on weekends. And in those days, that was an accurate job since bar codes were not yet used. I was not the only young cashier - there were about eight of us. The bread and meat sections were also staffed by high school students. In fact, the whole supermarket was runned by 15 - 17 year-olds on weekends. Would they have agreed on this had we been 'children' in the true sense of the word? Of course not! It shows that a 15 - 17 year-old can take on responsibilities. 

I am obviously not trying to say that all girls should marry before they are 18. Some may not be ready for it. But some others might be - and that's a personal choice.

Recipe (Shafoot)

Most families here eat shafoot during Ramadhan because of its refreshing taste, but it can also be served during the rest of the year. It consists of lehoh (a sort of pancake), yoghurt, and zahaweq.

How to prepare:
1. Elsewhere on this blog you can find the recipe for zahaweq. Mix this with yoghurt and a little water so that it is not too thick. A small dish of shafoot requires approx. 200 ml. yoghurt. Keep the mixture refrigerated until no. 4 below.
for the lehoh:
2.  Mix two parts of white flour and one part of millet ('dukhn' in Arabic). Add a pinch of salt and  a little yeast. Knead a dough with lukewarm water and then add more water to make it really liquid. Cover for a couple of hours. When it is rather 'bubbly' it is ready to use.
3. In a non-stick (TEFAL) frying pan, pour some of the watery dough. Don't add any oil. If you can cover the frying pan well, you don't have to turn the lehoh over. If not, you should. Repeat until you've used all the dough.
4. Put a piece of lehoh on a plate. Pour half the yoghurt/zahaweq mixture over it. Then put another piece of lehoh on top and pour over the rest of the mixture (if the plate is very small, you can use three pieces of lehoh instead of two). Decorate with a little salad in the middle.

Notes:
- You should prepare the last step (no. 4) right before serving. If you do this too early, it becomes soggy.
- If you can't find millet, you can use wholemeal flour instead. Your lehoh will miss the typical taste the 'dukhn' gives it, though.
- Lehoh is best eaten the day it's made.

Eid Mubarak!

The whole country will have at least a week's holiday. Everything (except some shops) will be closed, many people travel to their villages, and others to the coast. So whoever stays behind can enjoy an empty and quiet city for some days, inshallah!

Ramadhan (Laylat-ul-Qadr)

An Islamic day ends at the time of maghrib (sunset), so a new day then starts. That means that after maghrib on a Thursday, it is the 'night of Friday'. Why I am writing this? Because I was myself unaware of this for a long time, while it is very important in case of Laylat-ul-Qadr ('Night of Decree') - the most important night of Ramadhan.

"Seek out Laylat-ul-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan," the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said. In order to do so, one must know that after having fasted the 24th day of Ramadhan, for example, the night of the 25th has started, so that is one of the times you may seek out Laylat-ul-Qadr.

Laylat-ul-Qadr is better than a thousand months (Quran, surat ul-Qadr), and it is recommended that the Muslim stand in prayer during this night out of faith and hoping for a great reward. If he does this, Allah may forgive his previous sins. It is also recommended to supplicate a great deal in it. It is reported from Aishah (the wife of the Prophet (PBUH) that she said: "O Messenger of Allah! What if I knew which night Laylat-ul-Qadr was, then what should I say in it?" He said, "Say: O Allah you are the one who pardons greatly, and loves to pardon, so pardon me".

Ramadhan (Changing Schedules)

It's amazing how the Yemenis completely change their daily schedules during Ramadhan, and from the very first day! As soon as the beginning of the month is announced, they prepare themselves to stay up all night so that they can sleep the whole morning next day - or longer. A few active employees may go to work somewhere towards the end of the morning, but 99% of the shops and workplaces remain closed until after the noon prayer - at least. Consequently, mornings are beautifully quiet during this month, and it's certainly worth getting up early to experience the city being almost totally empty!

Ramadhan (another hadith)

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "There are two pleasures for the person observing fast: one at the time of iftar (breaking his fast), and the other at the time when he meets his Lord; then he will be pleased because of his fasting." (Bukhari)

Ramadhan (hadith)

Allah's Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said: "He who fasts but does not shun away from evil or falsified statements and bad acting, Allah, the Almighty is in no need for such a person to quit his food and drink."  (Bukhari)