Yemen denies child bride death

Yemeni authorities have denied the widely reported death of a child bride on her wedding night, presenting to reporters a girl who claimed she was eight-year-old Rawan, the supposed bride, and had never married.

Last week, the government said it was investigating reports that a child bride had died from injuries suffered during intercourse on the first night of her marriage to a man aged 40.

The reports that Rawan suffered such a brutal death triggered an international outcry and a flood of calls demanding that Yemen ban marriages to child brides.

On Saturday, Rights Minister Huriya Mashhoor said she would press for the minimum age for marriage to be raised to 18.

Rawan was said to have died last week from internal bleeding after sexual intercourse, following her marriage in a remote area of the northeastern province of Hajja.

On Tuesday, the head of criminal investigations in Hajja's district of Harad, Muslem al-Ghazzi, presented a young girl and said: "This is Rawan. She is alive and has never been married."