Each year, about 15 million girls become child brides. It is  really terrifying to know that at the end of today another 30,000 young kids will have been robbed of their childhoods, taken away their rights on education, and set on a dangerous path that often lead to poverty and servitute.

The reason why child merriage is a hidden yet a very big crisis is because the victims are way too young (even as young as eight or nine) , poor and most of them are female. these young girls are at greater risk of experiencing life threatening complications in pregnancy and childbirth. It’s breaking the human potential and reinforcing gender inequality on a global scale.

As we in the western countries find this totally wrong and a taboo, some cultures and countries do find it acceptable. I believe they find it acceptable because of their lack of knowledge and education. Countries such as India, Bangladesh and Nigeria has the highest number of child marriages. In India, 47% of the girls are married before they turn 18, even though (accoarding to Prohibition of Child Marriage Act PCMA) the legal age for marriage in India is 18 for girls and 21 for men.

Factors

In many cultures and communities girls are seen as an economic burden for the family, and by marrying her away the economic burden and the responsibility gets transfered to her husband.

When it comes to India, (wich has the highest percent of child brides) class and caste affects the expectaions and norms around the role of women and girls. In many communitites, girls are seen as a property of her father and then her husband. She only have a few roles; a daughter, a mother and a wife.

Dowry is also a factor with prices often increase the older the girl gets, wich is why families living in poverty marries their daugher while she’s very young.

In Bangladesh, the factors of child marriages includes poverty, the need to protect their daughters from harm, including sexual harassment. Not only protect them but also secure economic and social security for them.

But What Does Childbride Mean For These Girls?

It means denying girls their education, health and choice of when and whom to marry. The chances are very high that these girls will describe their first sex as forced.

These girls are likely to drop out of chool and is also a barrier to international development goals. Educating girls is not only very important, but their education also creates many good and positive outcomes for poverty reduction and for economic development. Lack of schooling becomes a hindering for their preparation for adulthood.

Accoarding to International Center for Research on Women, this chart shows us countries and the precentage of young girls who marry by 18 by their years of schooling.  As we can see, girls who have a higher level of schooling are also less likely to be married as kids. This leads to a conclution: Education is a fundamental solution to the problem. Women who are educated marry later. Keeping girls in school and out of marriages will also save lives.

SOURCES:

GirlsNotBrides http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/where-does-it-happen/

(ICRW) –Prohibition of Child Marriage Act

United Nation Population Fund- http://www.unfpa.org/child-marriage

Girlsnotbrides http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/what-is-the-impact/

Care International UK, http://www.careinternational.org.uk/fighting-poverty/empowering-women-and-girls/ending-early-child-marriage