UN: Mark Day of Girl by fighting child marriage
Baku, October 11 (AZERTAC). As the world celebrates the first International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, 2012, eliminating child marriages should be a key political priority for governments to protect the rights of girls and women.
Child marriages occur when one of the parties is below 18 years of age and are a violation of human rights that disproportionately affects girls. Child marriages also violate other human rights; including to education, freedom from violence, reproductive rights, access to reproductive and sexual health care, employment, freedom of movement, and the right to consensual marriage.
In 2005, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated that over 100 million girls would get married over the next decade. The UNFPA will present new data on prevalence of child marriage worldwide at the United Nations on October 11, 2012.
Child marriage almost inevitably disrupts girls’ education and exposes them to domestic violence. Human Rights Watch spoke to Faiza Ahmed, a Bangladeshi girl who did not know how old she was, but thought that she might be 15 or 16. Faiza was forced to marry soon after she finished class five. After the marriage, she could not satisfy her husband’s demands for money from her family (dowry demands), and he beat her and eventually poured acid on her face, eyes, and back.
Girls who marry young are more susceptible to early pregnancies and reproductive health complications associated with early pregnancy. Human Rights Watch interviewed Najla at a reproductive health clinic in Sanaa, Yemen. She did not know exactly how old she was, but she said that she was married soon after completing her second year in secondary school, which would have made her about 15 at the time of her marriage. She has two children who were born before she was 18 years old.
Even where countries do attempt to discourage child marriage, they may fail to protect the rights of girls. In India, Human Rights Watch found that Indian policies designed to discourage child marriages in practice discriminate against girl brides. In May 2012, Human Rights Watch documented a case where a woman who was forced by her family to marry before she turned 18, was later disqualified from taking the Madhya Pradesh state civil services examination on the ground that she had married as a child.
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