I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

This chapter brings the narrative back to Nujood in the present, seeking her divorce, and her powerhouse attorney Shada, who is moved by Nujood's story and approaches her to meet.

Shada immediately mobilizes the press and women’s groups in Yemen to get Nujood away from her husband. She tells Nujood not to be afraid and assures her that she will help: “No one has ever shown so much concern for me before” (79). She is aware that Shada is a powerful and famous lawyer in Yemen and admires her deeply. She takes note of her beauty, perfume, and makeup, but especially the fact that her veil does not cover her face, a rarity.

Nujood admits that, although she feels safe and happy with Judge Wahed, whose family treats her to “toys, tasty food, hot showers, and good-night kisses, like a real child” (81), she continues to have nightmares. In the meanwhile, the judges are concerned that her request for a divorce will be difficult to obtain because of her youth and the validity of the marriage contract. In the end, Nujood is placed in the temporary custody of her uncle Shoyi to protect her from her husband and father, who are placed under arrest. Nujood is riddled with guilt about her father, but she notes that she has no choice and takes heed of the judge’s advice that “when people are suffering, the evildoers must be punished” (83).

Nujood spends a fair amount of time returning to the courthouse as the judges and Shada work on her case. Little by little, she becomes more comfortable and begins to recognize and engage with people. She feels discouraged by the lengthy process but has faith in Shada, who she praises for having “endless determination” (85). Nujood comes to see Shada as a mother: “With her, I feel for the first time the maternal tenderness my mother, too preoccupied by all her family worries, did not know how-or rather, had no time-to give me” (86). For her part, Shada refers to Nujood as a daughter and praises her incredible courage.

This chapter depicts the circumstances of Nujood’s torturous life in Khardji and her escape from her husband. She notes that her husband continues to sexually assault and beat her when she resists. She writes that “life had become impossible” (89) and that she is tortured by shame and pain. Her mother-in-law first turns a blind eye to her troubles and then encourages her son to beat Nujood, saying that it is his right. She keeps Nujood confined in the house and forces her to work, disciplining her regularly.

Nujood struggles with feeling panicked, trapped, and angry, and wondering what she has done to deserve her ordeal. She also wonders why her parents submitted her to this and prays for God to save her: “Did every married girl have to go through the same agony?” (93).

Despite the fact that she begins to lose sense of time and to forget the details of her life in Sana’a, she realizes that she has to make her way back there in order to escape. She begins to beg and plead with her in-laws to see her family. She manages to wear her husband and mother-in-law down, and they resolve to visit Sana’a. Nujood resolves never to return to Khardji again.

In Sana’a, Nujood does not receive the support she expected from her family. Ali Mohammad tells her that leaving her husband is out of the question and that his honor is on the life. Her mother tells her that “all women must endure this” (95-96), so Nujood wonders why she had never warned her. Although Mona attempts to defend her, Nujood writes that she is too timid to have an effect. Ultimately, it is her father’s second wife, Dowla, who listens to her story and encourages her to go to the courtroom. Nujood realizes that seeking help from the courthouse is imperative: “[I]f I wanted to break free, I could count on no one but myself. And I was running out of time” (97). Despite her own poverty, Dowla gives Nujood money and tells her to ask for a judge, a representative of the government and “a godfather to all of us” (101).

It's the day of Nujood’s trial. She writes that, thanks to Shada’s media campaign, her case has gained notoriety and that the courtroom is bursting with people. Nujood is incredibly nervous and clings to Shada, her “second mother”(110), who reassures her that everything will work out. Although she finds it miraculous that she has stirred up so much interest, she writes that Shada had promised that all the journalists would not be present. Nujood worries about answering their questions and the fact that she has no idea how a divorce actually happens: “What if the monster simply says no?” (109).

Amid her reverie, Nujood realizes that she recognizes a reporter for the Yemen Times in the crowd, Hamed Thabet, “[Nujood's] new friend. A real big brother, not like Mohammad” (110). She meets Hamed through Shada and recounts her story to him. She notices that her story upsets him greatly, and he sympathizes with her. Despite the fact that he breaks her story to the public, and which upsets her at the time, Nujood notes: “I know that I owe him a great deal” (111).

She is brought out of her reverie when her husband and father are brought in, both looking furious. Despite the fact that her husband confronts Shada, Nujood marvels at how she remains calm and “doesn’t even blink” (112), praising her strength of character and how much she has learned from her. Nujood simultaneously worries that her father will never forgive her on account of his honor and feels sorry for him while also remaining furious with him. As the trial begins, she is comforted by the fact that all of the judges are there in her support.

Nujood in incensed when her husband, “the repulsive creature [she] hate[s] more than anything” (114) lies about sexually assaulting and beating her. Her husband states that the marriage was agreed upon, and her father confirms and adds that Nujood is 13. Nujood thinks about her father's mistruth: “Thirteen? No one ever told me I was thirteen. Since when have I been that old? I thought I was nine or ten at the most!” (115). The rest of the hearing proceeds like a blur for Nujood. Her husband admits to having sexual relations with her but insists that it was not sexual assault, prompting Nujood to finally speak up and refute this angrily. Her father and husband then begin to argue over the circumstances of the marriage, her husband claiming that her father lied to him about her age and her father insisting that he was never paid a bride-price. Upset, Nujood writes: “I’ve had enough of these grown-up quarrels that make children suffer. Stop!” (117).

Ultimately, her divorce is granted and Nujood relishes in her “regained freedom” (118). She chafes at the fact that her husband and father are released without a fine or a signed promise of good conduct, and that one of her uncles accuses Shada of sullying the reputation of their family. Nujood receives applause and congratulations from a number of people, as well as gifts of money from various foreign benefactors who are moved by her story. As “the youngest divorcée in the world” (118-119), she desires to return to her childhood.