Fearless 11-year-old Nada al-Ahdal, who escaped a forced marriage arranged by her parents, says she would "rather die" than get married.
In the video above the young Yemeni girl explains how she fled her childhood home in search of refuge with her uncle after learning that her parents had arranged her engagement to a wealthy suitor.
“I would have had no life, no education. Don’t they have any compassion?,” Nada says staring wide-eyed into the camera. “I’m better off dead. I’d rather die.”
Watching the video, it is harrowing to see a face so young speaking with such eloquence and compassion about her rights as a child, girl and woman to decide her own future. HuffPost UK Lifestyle have nothing but admiration for this brave young girl.
Nada al-Ahdal
The three-minute translated video was captured by Middle East Media Research Institute but, according to The Daily Mail, cannot be independently verified.
Nada's uncle Abdel Salam al-Ahdal, with whom she now lives, has saved the young girl from being married off by her parents twice before, NOW News reports
“When I heard about the groom, I panicked," Abdel tells NOW News. "Nada was not even 11 years old; she was exactly 10 years and 3 months. I could not allow her to be married off and have her future destroyed...I called the groom and told him Nada was no good for him."
Nada, who is one of eight children, filed a police complaint against her family.
"My mother hates me, she just wants me to get married because she will get money from the man," she told National Yemen. "But I’m not an item for sale, I’m a human being."
In one of the most hard-hitting points she addresses her parents directly: "Go ahead and marry me off -- I'll kill myself."
Read more about forced marriage here.