Crusading child bride honored by Glamour

NEW YORK, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A 10-year-old Yemeni girl who fought to dissolve her marriage to an abusive man was among the honorees at the 2008 Glamour Women of the Year awards.

Nujood Ali, whose parents couldn't afford to raise her and married her off to a 30-year-old man who raped and abused her, and human rights lawyer Shada Nasser fought to end the union, making Ali Yemen's first child bride to legally obtain a divorce.

"I didn't like my husband so my stepmother told me if I wasn't happy, I should go to court," Ali told the New York Daily News through a translator. "But no one was willing to take me. So I went on my own." She reportedly sat at court until a judge referred her to Nasser.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was also honored at Monday's star-studded Glamour event, told the News: "I can't wait to meet (Ali.) What an incredible story. That's going to be a great inspiration to talk to her."

During her own acceptance speech, honoree Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., called Ali "one of the greatest women I have ever seen."

"She set an example with her courage I hope will continue to challenge all of us," Clinton said.

Ali said she has been enjoying her trip to New York.

"I went to the Museum of Natural History, and to Central Park and I went on a cruise in

the river. That was my favorite," she told the newspaper.