The Issue Of Child Marriage

Due to political instability, it is difficult for non-government organizations to operate inside the borders of Yemen. Since there is such a small chance for civil society organizations, few are aware of the widespread problem of child marriages (Girls Not Brides, n.d.).

These principles are well-rooted in the culture of many developed countries, but for many regions in Africa these habits constitute a violation of their basic principles. Not to say that in Africa there was no such paradigms. It is true that in some regions of the country side, and especially where the Islam is dominant, premature marriages are a secular practice. But in most African countries, the culturally accepted minimum age for marriage is 18 years. Only after the individual reaches that age, can begin to get prepared to

Arranged marriages demonstrate a violation of people’s rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the basic rights and freedoms that all humans have (“Universal Declaration of Human Rights”). Every person is entitled to these rights which include freedom from torture and the liberty to pursue any life one may desire. Arranged marriages specifically defy an individual’s sexual rights which Amnesty defines as the ability to “make your own decisions about your body and...choose if, when and who to marry” (“Sexual and Reproductive Rights”). Worldwide, many different cultures disregard these basic human rights. Latin America places restrictions on abortions. Women are denied the right to make the choices concerning their own body even in cases of rape. In several countries in Africa, such as Niger and Guinea, countless children work as sex slaves or are forced

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

Almost 60% of girls are married by 16. Women activists say up to 80 percent of marriages in poor rural areas are either forced or arranged.

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.

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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

Agreements such as this can lift the burden of paying for a girl’s education, thus making it easier for parents to choose to educate their children, instead of marrying them off. In rural areas of underdeveloped countries, the practice of child marriage is on the rise due to the fact that most of the girls being married off are not educated enough to know there are laws in place to protect them. Being oblivious of their rights, children are being married off before they are able to comprehend the harm brought upon them. Having knowledge of laws that protects them from being married before they are ready can assist them in taking steps to prevent the occurrence of early marriage. Educating young girls about their rights is one way of ensuring that one child may be kept safe from having to face the atrocities of marriage with mostly older men. We can accomplish this by setting up organizations that can go to different villages and provide information on how marriage at a young age can have negative effects on the health of young wives. These organizations could even work with the government to provide shelters for girls who are trying to escape the wickedness of early marriage.

Discrimination towards woman in nowadays life is like a cancer. It is attacking without us knowing and realizing about it. One of it is a child marriage. Child marriage is a serious human rights violation affecting children’s and women’s rights to health, education, equality, non-discrimination and to live free from violence and exploitation

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.

Although there have been great strives to empower women in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s consideration of legislation that would permit child marriage would inevitably reverse the advancements that have been made towards women’s rights in the last few decades. Going in the opposite direction, the law would be conforming to the already prevalent culture of parents pushing their daughters into marriages at an early age. Merry would point out that different perspectives and understandings stem from framing of the issue. NGOs address child marriage by providing awareness and educating girl’s families, the government tries to impose legislation that would allow it, and local actors work towards reframing ideas while using culture as a catalyst for change – the last of which Merry would most likely side with.

Child brides are a little voiced problem that occur around the world. Fourteen million girls become child brides every year, a number that is increasing due to the growing populations of countries where child marriage is common (Fisher). I chose to focus on child brides specifically in Africa and the Middle East due to the high instances of child marriages in those parts of the world. In my research I also found that child brides are very common in South Asia and South America as well. In Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Nepal over half of girls are married before they turn eighteen (Fisher).This is largely due to traditional tribal practices, cultural norms, and an overall lack of education.

Child marriage, also known as Child, Early, and Forced Marriage (CEFM), by the United States Agency of International Development (USAID), is an issue of global proportions. Since, the problem itself crosses multiple aspects of a society, a multi-sector approach is recommended by USAID and many other global nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to alleviate the burdens that are both causes and effects of CEFM (Glinski, Sexton, & Meyers, 2015). Child

Early marriage is more common in the northern parts of Nigeria. Here, many parents prefer to marry off their daughters at a very young age, for cultural and economic reasons. The rate of illiteracy among females is higher here than in the south. Recent studies have