Child Marriage
PLAN international has identified child marriage as one of the top pressing health issues affecting girls in developing countries. The connection between girls getting married young and consequential negative health outcomes, stems from the fact they are more likely to become mothers at a young age which can lead to maternal health complications. In fact, complications during pregnancy and childbirth are two leading causes of death among 15 - 19 year old girls globally.
What is child marriage?
In order to be considered child marriage, one of the parties must be under the age of 18, which correlates with what most of us would think as the turning point of age of going from childhood to adulthood. Because in child marriage one of the parties is under 18 - this means that even if they do ‘consent’ to the marriage this is not full, free and informed consent and therefore child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage. 📷
Prevalence
Although this is a topic that as Canadians, we don’t see in our daily lives very often - globally nearly 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. This staggering number is put more into perspective once you realize that this means nearly every 2 seconds a girl under 18 is married. Unfortunately, child marriage is this prevalent in developing countries due to poverty, outdated laws that do not protect girls and girls being unaware of their rights prior to getting married.
Often families can see marriage as a way to protect or care for their young daughters and are uneducated about the emotional and physical heath risks that child marriage brings. One such example of this is the story of a young girl,Yekaba, who at the age of 12 was arranged to be married by her father, to a 20 year old boy she did not know. Her father wanted “someone to help him on the farm” and “security for Yekaba’s future”. However, he did not think about the health risks to Yekaba - who especially at the young age of 12 would be seriously at risk for pregnancy complications post her marriage. However, Yekaba’s story is a positive one, as because of organizations such as PLAN, in her community there were resources in place that allowed her to be empowered and stand up to her father and use her rights as a girl to say no to child marriage. Now Yekaba’s father understands that consequences of child marriage and advocates for others in his communitiy to not marry off their young daughters. Stories such as this one, highlight the need for education and intervention as key tools to stop child marriage and save young girls from potential future health problems.
To learn more about child marriage and to take a fun quiz that can test what you know about this important topic, consider checking out the following link: https://plancanada.ca/child-marriage
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Written by:
Katie Palamarek
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