In the name of myself and all the girls of our village, we submit this complaint regarding the injustice and oppression we suffer in this village due to the agreed-upon custom among the people of this village, which is not to marry off the girls except to the people of this same village, and this restriction does not apply to the young men, for they have the freedom to marry outside their village, which has led to a large number of unmarried women and the taking of multiple wives by elderly men, some of whom may reach the age of seventy while marrying a girl who is less than twenty years old, which has worsened the situation due to what the Shaykh of the tribe did in setting and facilitating the mahr, and all of this has led to the lack of respect for the wife, her appreciation, and the protection of her rights, as she is subjected to insult, expulsion, divorce, and being replaced by another for the slightest reason, so the man finds no difficulty in taking multiple wives until this matter became a field of boasting among men that he has married so many and divorced so many women, in addition to the lack of consideration for justice among them.

The questioner : In the name of myself and all the girls of our village, we submit this complaint regarding the injustice and oppression we suffer in this village due to the agreed-upon custom among the people of this village, which is not to marry off the girls except to the people of this same village, and this restriction does not apply to the young men, for they have the freedom to marry outside their village, which has led to a large number of unmarried women and the taking of multiple wives by elderly men, some of whom may reach the age of seventy while marrying a girl who is less than twenty years old, and what worsened the situation was what the Shaykh of the tribe did in setting and facilitating the mahr, and all of this has led to the lack of respect for the wife, her appreciation, and the protection of her rights, as she is subjected to insult, expulsion, divorce, and being replaced by another for the slightest reason, so the man finds no difficulty in taking multiple wives until this matter became a field of boasting among men that he has married so many and divorced so many women, in addition to the lack of consideration for justice among them.
This situation has caused many problems between the girls and their fathers, as they refuse marriage and prefer to remain unmarried rather than marry men who are the age of their fathers or perhaps older, without respect, justice, or appreciation, and they often become widows in the prime of their lives. If this matter applied to both girls and young men, it would be easy, but for this restriction to be specific to the girls only is the very essence of injustice. We ask you to offer advice to these fathers to fear Allah in their daughters and not oppress them, for they are a trust in their necks, and perhaps Allah will guide them and they will abandon this bad custom for which Allah has not sent down any authority. May Allah guide you?

The Shaykh : This is an important question, and it includes two matters. The first matter is the advice to these fathers and the Shaykhs of this tribe. We warn them of the anger of Allah and His might, and of the supplication of these women against them, for they are oppressed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal, when he sent him to Yemen and ordered him to take the zakah from their wealth: So these women who have been oppressed may supplicate against these men with a supplication that is answered, and it will encompass these men, may Allah protect us from that. Also, this is not justice, to prevent a woman from marrying one who is suitable for her in his religion and character. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Also, this issue causes many harms. If the girl does not marry at a young age, it may lead her to corruption, corruption of morals and unlawful sexual intercourse, may Allah protect us from that, and this is one of the greatest harms.
As for this specific case in this tribe, I see that the matter should be raised to the authorities, and the authorities are those who must enforce it, and they should compel these people to follow what the Shari'ah has brought, which is that a woman is married to one who is suitable for her in his religion and character.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.
This questioner is Muhammad Nasser from the Democratic Republic of Yemen, Lahj Governorate, and he sent two questions.