Yearn for Youth

My first visit to feministing.com was one that caused me to feel frustrated, angry, and blessed. The first post on the website caught my attention them most. It was about the death of a 12 year old Yemeni girl who died from severe bleeding during child birth. Her name is Fawziya Ammodi and because of extreme financial issues, she was forced not only to drop out of 4th grade last year, but marry a 24 year old man. While child brides are common in different countries and even religions it is a very touchy subject because it involves the boundary of the rights of and liberty of women, disregarding their opinions, desires and decisions. However the discussions on the post also include thoughts of portions of these situations (such as planned pregnancy) being positive. But the most thought and emotion provoking part of a story like this is the view of women (daughters) in the world and more specifically, their families. Are they not valued the same as sons, but as burdens? I personally feel that there is a point where tradition or religion can only have so much of an influence. There is a point where the abuse of human rights is not and should never seen as acceptable.