Shada Nasser

Nasser was in the born in the progressive southern region of Yemen and graduated from Law School in Prague, then part of Czechoslovakia in 1990.  Nasser believes she received her crusading spirit from her father who was a union organizer and journalist.  He unfortunately died whilst she was still quite young.  Nasser became one of the first female lawyers in Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa.

In April of 2008, Nasser was introduced to Nujood Ali, a terrified 10 year old girl who was looking to divorce her 30 year old husband. For Yemen, a conservative Muslim nation, such marriages were not uncommon. Nasser had been opposed to early marriage for a long time and she was now able to do something, cementing her belief that as a lawyer she had the power to help people.

Nasser has gained much support since the Ali marriage was dissolved and she is working towards increasing the legal age of marriage to 18. The key issue being that although in many early marriage cases the girls are being put under care of their new husband’s family and that sexual relations are not allowed to be engaged until maturity, it is very hard to enforce this part of the law. Many experts believe that this is one of the reasons that Yemen has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Nasser is continuing her work with many other girls now breaking their silence as a result of the Ali case.

Submitted by:
Kit Bennett

Sources:

CNN Heroes

Glamour Magazine

UN Development Fund For Women