Couple still profoundly in love after 91 years of marriage and 64 grandchildren: ‘God sent her to me.’

Nobody should ever have to endure the hardships that Zechariah and Shama’a did. Despite all of the challenges, they managed to remain married for 91 years, and what’s even more remarkable.

Nobody should ever have to endure the hardships that Zechariah and Shama’a did.They remained together for 91 years despite all of their challenges.

The fact that they are still in love almost a century later is even more astounding.

Zechariah and Shama’a both lost their mothers when they were young orphans.‘We were both orphans growing up. He and I both lacked mothers, Shama’a told BBC.’

So, they were married off at a very young age, as was customary for most orphans in Yemen.Shama’a was 10 and Zechariah was 12.

This was done in order to increase their chances of remaining within the Jewish community and avoiding getting married to non-Jews.

Sadly, child marriage continues to take place in Yemen today.According to the Borgen Project, there was no minimum age for marriage in Yemen as of 2022.

With the justification that it is ‘un-Islamic,’ the Sharia Legislative Committee has consistently rejected attempts to raise the marriage age to 17 and above.

In 2020, Yemeni news sources were reporting on children as young as 12 being married.

They were forced into marriage by individuals who were not their parents, but they had no other support system save one another.

‘In life, we didn’t lick honey. We experienced pain, Shamaa told the BBC. ‘There was no agony worse than what we had gone through. There isn’t any.’The married couple and kids were left to fend for themselves.

We were homeless, so Shama’a stated, ‘We cleaned a donkey’s stable and lived in it.’They made it through by cleaning out the barn they slept in.

They moved to Israel when they were in their mid- to late-20s, having been allowed to flee Yemen in 1948 to avoid the persecution of Jews.

1, 2, 3, etc. Already, I have forgotten how many there were. Zechariah remarked, ‘There were many. He views his marriage to his wife as a great blessing.

He is appreciative of their extended family and the many years they have spent together.

Zechariah expresses his desire for them to never have to be separated.

He said, ‘God protected us the whole way and allowed the two of us to die together. ‘May God keep you safe and grant you a happy life.’

Watch the video below to learn more about Zechariah and Shama’a’s 91-year union.

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