I am in my twenties and I cannot fathom being married at this point in my life; farless at 6 years old. In some parts of the world, girls don't have that option, they are married off before they can even say "I am six". Child marriages have been happening all over the world for years now and it is about time that it stops. Some notable folks around the world have come together to do exactly that and breathe a new generation, where education and independence are the main options.
Thankfully, I don’t have family members pressuring me about marriage or arranging it on my behalf (that would not be an unusual thing, considering I come from an Indian family--my father is Muslim and my mother is Hindu, but it has been a very long time since anyone was arranged to be married). Although we are in 2011 and about to enter 2012, the world is moving forward, more progressively and beyond what our parents ever imagined. So, when I read about the “Girls not Bride” campaign and why it was brought about, I cannot understand the reasoning behind child marriages.
I have friends, who are married and most of them are about to give birth to their first child and I could not imagine speaking with them six years later and being told they have married off their daughter. I am sure most of you read that line; and thought to yourself “she’s exaggerating”, but it is the reality in India, where 40% of underage marriages take place.
Some 10 million girls a year are married off before the age of 18 across the world, according to a UNICEF report released this year. It was last week that Archbishop Desmond Tutu launched the “Girls not Bride” campaign at the Clinton Global Initiative. He described child marriage as a "practice that robs millions of girls of their childhood, their rights and their dignity". These young girls, are brought into this world and sadly their lives are never theirs, but that of everyone elses-from their parents to their husbands.
One of the biggest obstacles of being forced into child marriages is not getting an education. Most girls, who marry before the age of 18, never learn to read or write, they are viewed by their families and their in-laws as a wife and nothing more. Imagine living in a world where you are nothing but the property of a man, who in turns beats and threatens you. You have no one to stand up for you, not even your family, because they too, share his sentiments. Imagine a world where as a woman, you are not allowed to receive a decent education and being able to read and write so you may one day help your children-- never happens. Imagine a world, where you have no say of who you marry and what you would hope for your life.
Long after midnight, five-year-old Rajani is roused from sleep and carried by her uncle to her wedding. Ceremonies are often held in the wee hours of morning.
I have friends, who are married and most of them are about to give birth to their first child and I could not imagine speaking with them six years later and being told they have married off their daughter. I am sure most of you read that line; and thought to yourself “she’s exaggerating”, but it is the reality in India, where 40% of underage marriages take place.
Some 10 million girls a year are married off before the age of 18 across the world, according to a UNICEF report released this year. It was last week that Archbishop Desmond Tutu launched the “Girls not Bride” campaign at the Clinton Global Initiative. He described child marriage as a "practice that robs millions of girls of their childhood, their rights and their dignity". These young girls, are brought into this world and sadly their lives are never theirs, but that of everyone elses-from their parents to their husbands.
Child marriages are illegal in India, and are punishable with a fine and two years in prison for anyone who performs, conducts or fails to prevent a child marriage, and although that is the case, it is never policed, because the authorities have no clue when such a marriages take place. When a six year old is jumping the broom, or in their case walking around the fire, it usually happens in the wee hours of the morning, in small villages where every person supports it and because of that support the authorities are never informed of this. When the girl is of age, 14 years old, she then leaves here parent’s home and moves in with her older husband and his family--and at that point, it is time to start the family.
After celebrating with female relatives at a wedding party, Yemeni brides Sidaba and Galiyaah are veiled and escorted to a new life with their husbands. "Some rural girls see marriage as saving themselves from the control of their families.
Tahani (in pink) recalls of the early days of her marriage to Majed, when she was 6 and he was 25. The young wife posed for this portrait with former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, outside their mountain home in Hajjah.
Most of these child brides have reported at some point or another of being beaten, slapped or threatened by their husbands. Although, young boys are subjected to this as well, it is the girl who suffers at a greater extent. She is neither physically nor emotionally ready to become a wife and mother and at far greater risk of experiencing dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, becoming infected with HIV/AIDS and suffering domestic violence. With little or no education or economic opportunities, she and her family suffers and ends up living in poverty for the rest of their lives, increase the already high poverty rate India is suffering from.
Asia, a 14-year-old mother, washes her new baby girl at home in Hajjah while her 2-year-old daughter plays. Asia is still bleeding and ill from childbirth yet has no education or access to information on how to care for herself.
One of the biggest obstacles of being forced into child marriages is not getting an education. Most girls, who marry before the age of 18, never learn to read or write, they are viewed by their families and their in-laws as a wife and nothing more. Imagine living in a world where you are nothing but the property of a man, who in turns beats and threatens you. You have no one to stand up for you, not even your family, because they too, share his sentiments. Imagine a world where as a woman, you are not allowed to receive a decent education and being able to read and write so you may one day help your children-- never happens. Imagine a world, where you have no say of who you marry and what you would hope for your life.
When Sunil's parents arranged for her marriage at age 11, she threatened to report them to police in Rajasthan, India. They relented, and Sunil, now 13, stayed in school. "Studying will give her an edge against others," her mother now says.
Most of these child brides leave poverty for more poverty and when they give birth to their children; it is in poverty as well and this cycle continues, because no one is educated enough to know that there are other options. That word “option” is what Girls not Brides and other NGOs are trying to get across to these girls and their families, that there are options. Even if it is not an education, but that she earns her own wages and makes a life that she is truly happy of—that is an option. Some NGOs are helping young girls find self-esteem and in that, hope they can stand up and tell their parents they do not want to be married, but rather have an education or a job. It is assumed that in order to tell their parents no marriage, there has to be an alternative that is far greater than being married.
Luis Ubiñas (Ford Foundation) Mary Robinson (The Elders) Archbishop Desmond Tutu (The Elders) Jeniffer Buffett (NoVo Foundation)
Girls not Brides is made up of organisations working all over the world to end child marriage, support child brides and raise the profile of this neglected issue.
The Campaign aims to:
• Raise awareness of the harmful impact of child marriage by encouraging open, inclusive and informed discussion at the community, local, national and international level;
• Facilitate learning and coordination between organizations working to end child marriage; and
• Mobilise all necessary policy, financial and other support to end child marriage.
The Campaign aims to:
• Raise awareness of the harmful impact of child marriage by encouraging open, inclusive and informed discussion at the community, local, national and international level;
• Facilitate learning and coordination between organizations working to end child marriage; and
• Mobilise all necessary policy, financial and other support to end child marriage.
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1 comments:
I like the blog! Good stuff, impressive.
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