Child marriage robs 10 million girls a year of their childhood. It's time to end it.
By Elizabeth Tornheim
Every nineteen minutes, a girl under the age of 18 is forced into a marriage. Oftentimes these girls are still trying to become educated as a way to increase their economic opportunity to escape poverty. And yet, as a Yemeni child bride explains, “it’s the men who give the order, and the women that follow.” As a result, these young girls are more likely to become victims of domestic violence, and have health problems related with early sexual activity. Girls under the age of fifteen are five times as likely to die in childbirth than women in their twenties, and child brides are at greater risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection because they lack say in rejecting unsafe sexual practices.[i]
These staggering statistics have brought together non-governmental organizations to work together to end child marriage, in a global partnership called Girls Not Brides. At the core, the organization helps facilitate collaboration between activists and NGOs to share the best practices of strategy, communication, and advocacy. By working to empower girls within their own communities, as well as by pressuring policymakers to bring attention to the issue, Girls Not Brides demands action at a local and international level.
The Elders, a group of prominent world leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela, established the organization. In late September, the international campaign was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative, and leaders including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson announced the plans for the campaign. Now, organizations from across the world have joined to end child marriage including Equality Now, Save the Children UK, and World YMCA.
Girls Not Brides has already supported programs such as the Development Initiative Supporting Healthy Adolescents (DISHA); this program, based in India, has provided access to health services, increased awareness of the consequences of early child marriage, and given support to the community. Another program called Berhane Hewan works in Ethiopia where child marriage is very prevalent, and affects 50% of young girls. Girls Not Brides has supported activists in this region working to inform young girls about relying on education rather than the men in the community.
Most importantly, Girls Not Brides emphasizes that child marriage cannot be ignored or seen as a matter of culture or tradition. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.”[ii] Child marriage is not only a health hazard and harmful tradition; it is also a human rights violation.
You, too can stay informed about the campaign and find out the ways you can help by visiting girlsnotbrides.org. Although change is a slow process, each individual has the power to make an impact.
[i] United Nations Children’s Fund, Early Marriage: A harmful traditional practice: A statistical exploration, UNICEF New York, 2005, pp. 12-13
[ii] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/