I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

I just finished reading this book and it was amazing! It is crazy to think this kind of thing happens, but different cultures have different rules.  This is the start of a change in the way people think.  I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, by Nujood Ali wth Delphine Minoui.

“I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”

Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse. Flouting his oath to wait to have sexual relations with Nujood until she was no longer a child, he took her virginity on their wedding night. She was only ten years old.

Unable to endure the pain and distress any longer, Nujood fled—not for home, but to the courthouse of the capital, paying for a taxi ride with a few precious coins of bread money. When a renowned Yemeni lawyer heard about the young victim, she took on Nujood’s case and fought the archaic system in a country where almost half the girls are married while still under the legal age. Since their unprecedented victory in April 2008, Nujood’s courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has attracted a storm of international attention. Her story even incited change in Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries, where underage marriage laws are being increasingly enforced and other child brides have been granted divorces.

Recently honored alongside Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice as one of Glamour magazine’s women of the year, Nujood now tells her full story for the first time. As she guides us from the magical, fragrant streets of the Old City of Sana’a to the cement-block slums and rural villages of this ancient land, her unflinching look at an injustice suffered by all too many girls around the world is at once shocking, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable.

Sichuan Beef with Chilli & Capsicum

I made this delicious recipe the other night for dinner and would love to share. It was very easy and because it's a stir fry - quick!

Ingredients:
700g beef fillet, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger [I just used the jar in my fridge]
2 Tbsp peanut oil
4 shallots, ends trimmed, cut into 4cm lengths
1 red capsicum, seeded & thinly sliced
1 yellow capsicum, seeded & thinly sliced
1 fresh long red chilli, thinly sliced diagonally
1 fresh long green chilli, thinly sliced diagonally
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
Steamed rice, to serve
Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve

Method:
1. Combine the beef, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce and half the garlic and ginger in a medium bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes to marinate. Drain the beef, reserving any of the marinade.

2. Heat a wok over high heat. Add half the oil and heat until just smoking. Swirl to coat. Stir-fry one third of the beef for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a place. Repeat, in 2 more batches, with the remaining beef, reheating the wok between batches. [I just cooked mine in 1 lot, I'm not 100% sure what the difference is with the cooking in batches. I'll try it next time to see]

3. Heat remaining oil in the wok. Add the shallot, combined capsicum, combined chilli and remaining garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until capsicum is tender crisp. Add the beef, remaining soy sauce, reserved marinade and hoisin sauce. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Serve with steamed rice and coriander sprigs.