The gripping story of a 14 year-old Chicago girl who just barely escaped a forced marriage has become an internet sensation that is bringing all the right attention to the horrific plight of too many women around the world.
Breitbart is reporting on the story of Yasmine Koenig who was born in Chicago to Palestinian immigrants. After her father died when she was four months old, her mother and two older sisters went to live with their grandmother.
The first indication she had that anything was amiss was when her older sisters, now in their teens, were shipped off to Ramallah to “visit family” – and never returned. Only later did Yasmine discover that her mother and grandmother – who were strict Muslims – shipped them off to get married in order to prevent them from becoming too influenced by Western culture.
When Yasmine was 14 years old, her mother forced her to drop out of school. Being home all day and bored, Facebook became her only link to the outside world.
One day, she met a boy through the site and arranged to go to the mall with him. When her mother found out, Yasmine was packed up and shipped off to “visit family” in Ramallah.
No sooner did she arrive there than her sisters, mother and grandmother arranged for a strong of male suitors to come calling. Yasmine had no idea what was happening until she learned that one of the men, who was a few inches shorter than her and missing half a front tooth, was deemed a worthy husband.
At the age of 15, she was forced to marry him.
“My worst nightmare was becoming a terrifying reality,” she said. “I ran into the bathroom, curled into a ball, and dissolved into tears. How could my family do this to me? I thought about running away, but how?”
Yasmine once again turned to Facebook and told a friend about her predicament. The friend gave her the number for the U.S. Embassy and, after two months of waiting, two officials facilitated her exit out of the country.
Not long afterward, Yasmine was forced to face her mother in court where she would eventually be determined to be an unfit parent.
“The first court date was two weeks after I arrived,” Yasmine recalls. “When I saw my mom, I froze. She was sitting in the waiting room and refused to acknowledge me. She didn’t make eye contact; it was as if I didn’t exist. I felt an awful mix of hurt and rage,” she said.
Because she was still a minor, Yasmine was placed in the foster system. After a few difficult experiences with foster families, she eventually went to live with the Koenigs who loved her and adopted her.
Thanks to their love and devotion, she was able to return to school and is now enrolled at Illinois State University.
“Regardless of what I end up doing for a living, the thing that makes me the most excited is that I get to choose — what I want to wear, who I want to date or even marry, and ultimately, who I want to be,” Yasmine said.
Yasmine originally shared her story with Children’s Rights for inclusion in their annual Fostering the Future campaign. It went viral with close to half a million shares after Seventeen magazine republished it.
Yasmine is one of the lucky ones. An estimated 14 million girls under the age of 18 become child brides every year – which amounts to 39,000 child brides a day. This horrendous practice not only violates the human rights of these children, it robs them of the chance to achieve their God-given potential as human beings.
As Yasmine’s story confirms, the backward cultures that endorse these practices have a long reach and can even affect Americans of similar ethnic origins.
This is why it is so important to take an active role in educating ourselves and our family members about the true nature of femininity and the beautiful image of God it reflects upon an otherwise cold and hurting world.
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