Why Child Marriage Is Wrong?

Child marriage is a significant issue that affects both girls and boys, with nine in 10 children getting married before their 18th birthday. It is rooted in gender inequality and the belief that girls and women are inferior to boys and men. It is made worse by poverty, lack of education, and deprives girls of their right to choose if, when, and whom to marry and what type of family to create.

Child marriage is common worldwide, with over 650 million women and girls alive today being married before their 18th birthday. The biggest barrier to ending child marriage in the U.S. is a lack of awareness, with nearly half of Americans polled believing it is already illegal. Global child marriage rates are slowly falling, with rates of child marriage before age 15 falling from 11% in 2000 to 5% in 2021.

Child marriage happens because of rampant gender inequality, where girls’ lives are not valued the same as boys’ lives. Local social norms often contribute to the practice generation after generation. Child marriage is linked to poverty, and it often ends a girl’s education. Girls who marry before 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence and less opportunities in life.

Child marriage is not just a major barrier to development in many countries in the 21st century, but it is simply “wrong” to young girls. Early marriage limits adolescent girls’ abilities to make decisions about their lives, puts them more at risk of poverty, and makes them more vulnerable to violence, discrimination, and abuse.

In what country is forced marriage most common?

Nigeredit. Forced marriage is common in Niger. Niger has the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world;136137 and also the highest total fertility rate.138 Girls who attempt to leave forced marriages are most often rejected by their families and are often forced to enter prostitution in order to survive.139 Due to the food crisis, girls are being sold into marriage.140.

Balkissa Chaibou is known as one of the most famous activists against forced marriage in Niger. Chaibou was 12 when she was informed by her own mother that she was to be married to her cousin, and when she was 16, she took to the courts. With little success, Chaibou was forced to a womens shelter before she was finally able to go home where she learned of her parents changed views on forced marriage, that they were now against it.141.

Somaliaedit. The Sexual Intercourse Related Crimes Bill proposed in August 2020 in Somalia would allow both child marriage and forced marriage. The new bill risks legitimizing child marriage, among other alarming practices, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said. Thousands of people in Somalia circulated a petition against the bill, including representatives of the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights Center. More than 45% of young women in Somalia marry or are in union before the age of 18.142.

Which country has the most child marriages?

Niger has the highest child marriage rate in the world among girls. According to the most recent data, in this West African country, more than three fourths of girls aged under 18 were married, with nearly 30 percent of them being younger than 15 years old. The Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali followed behind with rates ranging from 61 to 54 percent. This issue is globally spread, particularly in African countries. In many of these countries, the legal age to get married is lower for females than for males. In Niger and Chad, for instance, the legal age is 15 years for females and 18 for males. In Guinea, instead, the legal age for marriage is 17 for females and 18 for males. Child marriage is often related to poverty, with poor families choosing to marry away their girls both in order to earn money as a wedding gift and as this means fewer mouths to feed.

Why is forced marriage wrong?

Forced marriage is illegal in the UK. It is a form of domestic abuse and a serious abuse of human rights.

The pressure put on people to marry against their will may be:

• Physical: for example, threats, physical violence or sexual violence
• emotional and psychological: for example, making someone feel like they are bringing ‘shame on their family

Financial abuse, for example taking someones wages, may also be a factor.

How the Forced Marriage Unit can help. The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is a joint Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Home Office unit which leads on the governments forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It operates both inside the UK (where support is provided to any individual) and overseas (where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals).

What are the disadvantages of child marriage?

Child marriage violates childrens rights and places them at high risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse. Child marriage affects both girls and boys, but it affects girls disproportionately.

It is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.

Child marriage ends childhood. It negatively influences childrens rights to education, health and protection. These consequences impact not just the girl directly, but also her family and community.

Is it okay to marry a child?

There are too many exceptions to child marriage laws in the United States. Child marriage is harmful. It is a human rights violation that legitimizes abuse and denies girls autonomy. When young girls are forced to marry, they are essentially subject to state-sanctioned rape and are at risk of increased domestic violence, forced pregnancy, and negative health consequences, while being denied education and economic opportunity. Equality Now and our partners advocate that theminimum age for marriage be set at 18, no exceptions.

But did you know that only twelve U.S. states meet this standard? Equality Now works around the world to end child, early, and forced marriage, applying our legal expertise in support of partners, individual cases, and legislative efforts. The US should be no exception.

What is child marriage, and is it really happening in the United States?. Child marriage occurs when one or both of the parties to the marriage are below the age of 18. Child marriage is currently legal in 38 states (only Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont have set the minimum age at 18 and eliminated all exceptions), and 20 U.S. states do not require any minimum age for marriage, with a parental or judicial waiver.Nearly 300,00 children were married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018. The vast majority were girls wed to adult men, many much older.

Is it OK to force someone to marry?

You can be forced into marriage by others such as parents, families or religious leaders. They may force you throughassault, threats or violence, making you feel guilty, or taking your money away from you (theft). This is abuse. It is important you remember that this is not okay and you should always have a choice.

Reasons why you may be being pressured into marrying someone you dont want to include:

• Parents may feel pressured by other family members or communities to force a marriage, or may see forced marriage as being part of their religion or culture.
• Parents may be fearful about your familys reputation or honour
• this is sometimes called their ‘izzat. Parents may believe reputation can be damaged for a number of reasons, including if you are having a relationship out of marriage, or if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. If someone hurts, or threatens to hurt, you because of these, this is called‘honour-based violence (HBV).
• There may be a financial motive behind the marriage. Families may force a marriage if they want you to marry another family member to keep money in the family,or they may force you to marry in exchange for money.

What country has the youngest brides?

Niger has the highest child marriage rate in the world among girls. According to the most recent data, in this West African country, more than three fourths of girls aged under 18 were married, with nearly 30 percent of them being younger than 15 years old. The Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali followed behind with rates ranging from 61 to 54 percent. This issue is globally spread, particularly in African countries. In many of these countries, the legal age to get married is lower for females than for males. In Niger and Chad, for instance, the legal age is 15 years for females and 18 for males. In Guinea, instead, the legal age for marriage is 17 for females and 18 for males. Child marriage is often related to poverty, with poor families choosing to marry away their girls both in order to earn money as a wedding gift and as this means fewer mouths to feed.

Can I marry a girl 10 years younger than me?

Well certainly there isnt any law against marrying someone with a ten year age difference. Now coming on to the question at hand its absolutely appropriate and okay for you to marry someone ten years younger than you, if she is okay and capable of giving consent and you too are on board.

Is forced marriage a moral issue?

“Child and forced marriage represents a violation of virtually all human rights,” says Birga. “It deprives women and girls of autonomy and choice over their bodies and their lives.”

Girls forced into marriage are exposed to early pregnancies that are detrimental to their health because their bodies are not ready. Child marriage also has serious impacts on education because girls are often withdrawn from school to be married off, or they drop out of school after they become pregnant. “This has the effect of perpetuating the cycle of poverty and exclusion,” says Birga.

Theresa Kachindomoto, senior chief of the Dedza District in Malawi, has made it her top mission to abolish the practice of child marriage in the 551 villages in her area. Malawi has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, where 50 percent of girls are married before they reach adulthood.Even before Malawis parliament passed a law last year prohibiting marriage before the age of 18, Kachindomoto has devoted the past decade using her authority as a custodian of tradition granted to Malawi chiefs to outlaw child marriage in her area. Last year, Kachindomoto convinced 50 village heads to sign an agreement to prohibit and annul child marriages in their villages. She has dismissed five village heads for failing to observe the prohibition and allowing girls to marry.

Working with village leaders and a network of parent groups, Kachindomoto has succeeded in breaking up 1,455 child marriages, gaining her a reputation as a fearless “marriage terminator”. In a country where marrying off a daughter is often seen as a way to gain family resources, Chief Kachindomoto is going to door-to-door to convince parents to keep their girls in school and send young mothers back to the classroom.