Reem Al Numery

Who is Reem Al Numery?

Reem Al Numery is a children's rights activist in Yemen. Known for resisting child marriage, she was honored by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on March 11, 2009, with the International Women of Courage Award. She was listed in the Time Magazine 2010 100 Most Influential People in the World.

At age 12, at the end of her school year, Al Numery was forced to marry her 30-year-old cousin. She refused, and was bound and gagged by her father for the ceremony. She described to the U.S. Consul how her husband raped her in order to consummate the marriage.

After two attempts at suicide and a great deal of international attention she was finally granted a divorce by a Yemeni judge. Al Numery currently lives with her mother.