Gender Equality And Child Marriage

Some girls are bartered into marriage to repay debt or resolve a dispute. And widespread poverty still compels many parents to get their daughters married to avoid the cost of caring for them.

Although the issue of women’s rights has attracted international recognition and support, women still face many inequalities and barriers. Gender-based violence and economic discrimination are problems in many parts of the world.

Child marriage in the States is a serious problem. The current law for child marriage states that you must be at least eighteen years old to marry. However, state laws make exceptions if minors have parental consent. Due to the lack of awareness in this topic thirty-three states and two counties in the U.S. reported that between 2000-2015 there were a total of 170,363 minors that were married. Of which, six were twelve-year-olds, fifty-one were thirteen-year-olds, nine hundred eighty-five was fourteen years old. Not only is this number increasing but it is also alarming. The main reasons for child marriage are poverty, gender inequality, tradition/culture, education, and insecurity. Most of the child marriages happen in rural or backward areas of the country. The main reason for this is poverty for sure. Parents who have a daughter but don't earn as much choose this method to give them a better life. For the boys, the marriage does not take place but poverty triggers child labor. Another main reason behind this activity is gender inequality. Even today there are lots of countries that consider

In the article, Child Marriages in Sub-Saharan Africa, states the reasons and crazy expectations of child marriages. In Sub-Saharan Africa 39% of girls are married before the age of 18. Child marriages has spread throughout all of Africa. In West and Central Africa 42% of girls are married before age 18 and in Eastern and Southern Africa it is 36% of the girls (Child Marriages in: Sub-Saharan Africa). These number vary throughout the year yet they never drop to zero. It is a mass dilemma to outsiders yet in the depth of Africa, it a tradition that is hard to break. Daughters may be married off due to poverty or fear of safety. It is a custom in which the daughter does not have much control and marriage can be used as a leverage in a heated

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"(US Declaration of Independence). Equality is a fundamental principle that has helped form our law system to what it is today. Since the Declaration of Independence we have been able to expand who should be included when our law system addresses equality. Today law, regarding gender equality has progressed significantly. Examining American history, it is evident to notice oppression women's faced from the time prior to the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848 to the Civil Rights act of 1964 and even today in some instances; the strive for equality amongst genders is a conflict that has come a long way, but still needs to be addressed accordingly.

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

Kingston, many girls are forced into marriages by being told it is the right thing to do. In summary, underage arranged marriages are very dangerous and unfair to the children who are placed under those circumstances while they haven’t even reached the capacity to comprehend what they want.

Girls all over the world are forced into marriages due to financial necessity, tradition and to ensure their future. Most of these girls married are at a young age: “One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15”( “Child Marriage Facts and Figures”). The young ages of those being married reveal how crucial it is to resolve this problem. When child marriage occurs the parents of the bride usually chose the groom for their daughters; and these grooms can be three times older than the young brides. Some children are brought into the world of marriage at the of 8 or sometimes less depending on their cultural views. The following can be used to help reduce the impact of early

of women’s right on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. The

Women’s rights have changed drastically throughout history. From being suppressed/not considered persons to having equal rights to men. Subsequently, with the help of rights activists such as the famous 5 and the equal rights liberation movement in the 1960’s, women have gained equality and freedom. Voting rights, the person’s case, fashion and job opportunities/advancements are just a few examples of the journey women have taken on the path to equal rights. These changes are soon to develop the controversial society we live in now. “The purpose of a woman's life is just the same as the purpose of a man’s life: that she may make the best possible contribution to the generation in which she is living” -Louise Mckinney .

There have been groups of women though out history that have acknowledged that not everyone is born equal and has a fair voice. In 1919, The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) held a conference in Zurich, Switzerland. Some of the things that they examined were women’s equality, women’s marriage rights and their kin, economic efforts, and peace and liberty for all people. In the past 97 years since the conference, there has been a great deal of progress in equal rights for all women. While there has been progress there is still more work to be done for women’s rights. Looking back since 1919 we can see how far women have come and still have to go today in our culture.

Every young girl asks for a new baby Annabel or a new bicycle on the run up to their 11th birthday, but girls all over the world just want the right to an education and a free life. In the developing world girls are getting married to older men from ages 30 up. This can end their chances of an education and puts them at a much greater risk of isolation and violence. For girls under the age of 15 the incidence of an early forced marriage is one in nine; The girls in these undeveloped countries can be married as young as 5 years old. It is time to stop these unforgivable marriages.

In many of the cultures in these parts of the world honor is of vital importance. It is a great shame to one’s family for a girl to have sex outside of marriage, consensual or otherwise. Women who have sex outside of wedlock are ostracized from their communities and at times even killed in order to cleanse the family honor. Based on these beliefs, a father (as it is almost always the men of the family who arrange marriages) may marry his daughter off early in an effort to protect her and the family. In Yemen there is a proverb that says “To guarantee a happy marriage, marry a nine-year-old girl” (Ali 74), and in Nigeria it is “considered shameful for a girl to menstruate more than once while still residing in her parents’ home” (Haberland

In many societies, marriage is a celebrated institution commemorating the union between two consenting adults and the beginning of their lives together. However, this experience and celebration is different for the millions of girls around the world who are forced to wed while still children, some not even yet teenagers.