Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
When Maarib balked, her parents insisted — violently. They beat her with broomsticks, Bexar County (Texas) Sheriff Javier Salazar said. They choked her “almost to the point of unconsciousness.” They threw hot oil on her.
The only way to make the violence stop was to relent — or to at least make her parents think she had.
Maarib said she would go through with the marriage. But as her wedding date neared, she was working on a plan. On Jan. 30, Maarib walked out of Taft High School in San Antonio and disappeared.
Authorities began to search for the 5-foot-5, 150-pound girl and speculated that she may have been returned to the Middle East, according to San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT. Eventually, they found her.
On Friday, authorities announced that her parents — Abdulah Fahmi Al Hishmawi, 34, and Hamdiyah Sabah Al Hishmawi, 33 — were arrested and charged with continuous abuse of a family member.
Maarib, now 16, has been placed in the custody of child protective services along with her five siblings, ages 5 to 15. Police have not said whether they suspect those children were also abused, Salazar said, and they won’t say where Maarib fled for help.
Arranged v. forced marriages
Women’s advocacy organizations warn against using the term “arranged marriage” to describe situations like Maarib’s. Marriage is an agreement between two people, and, in some cultures, an arranged marriage can include significant input from family members.
But anything that is “characterized by coercion, where individuals are forced to marry against their will, under duress and/or without full, free and informed consent from both parties,” is not arranged marriage, it’s forced marriage, according to the Canada-based South Asian Women’s Centre (SAWC). Forced marriages include those involving any child under the age of 18 — the age where she can make an informed decision.
Such marriages can also mask human trafficking and domestic violence — and such unions involving minors can be especially onerous, the organization said.
“Her right to education is violated as she likely has to abandon her education, effectively halting her development,” the SAWC said of girls involved in such arrangements. “Child brides who are forced into marriage also find their health at risk as they tend to have children very young, usually before their bodies are ready for childbirth. They also have a higher chance of contracting HIV/AIDS and other STIs.”
