In 2008, the then ten-year-old Nujood Ali made an appearance in a Sana’a court, demanding a divorce from her husband, a man in his 30s. Ali, whose family lived in a suburb of the Yemeni capital, undertook an arranged marriage two months previously, and was regularly beaten by her in-laws and raped by her husband. Ali eventually case, divorced, and in the process became a figurehead against forced marriage in the impoverished country. Later that year, Ali visited the US, where her cause was recognised by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.