As we go through our daily lives we often take a lot for granted. Even as we reflect our pasts, we often still do not recognize how much we take for granted. While we may have the privilege to reminisce the beautiful innocence and freedom most of us enjoyed during our youth with no question or doubt, the same cannot be said for the millions of children stripped of their innocence and freedom by being forced into arranged child marriage, an ongoing worldwide human rights violation that is seriously overlooked.
I first became aware of the severity of child marriage after I watched a Nat Geo presentation given by Stephanie Sinclair, a visual journalist and catalyst for raising awareness on the devasting effects of child marriage. Sinclair has devoted her work to documenting child marriage and advocating for the end of this human rights violation since the early 2000s. Her work and activism also developed into the formation of Too Young to Wed, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending child marriage. As detailed by Unicef, “child marriage 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.” The statistics for child marriage worldwide are far more disturbing than what one might expect in 2019. According to Girls Not Brides, “each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. That is 23 girls every minute, nearly 1 in every 2 seconds.” The repercussions of child marriage are severe, child marriage leads to higher rates of domestic violence, higher risks of contracting HIV/AIDS and child brides are at a higher risk for complications during pregnancy and childbirth which aids in high maternal and child mortality rates. Aside from the physical consequences of child marriage, the institution of underage marriage upholds societal gender inequality in countries where girls and women are most likely already undervalued. Underage marriage deprives girls and women of their fundamental right to education. Girls who are married young usually stop going to school to fulfill their domestic roles, which preserves decreased social mobility and poverty, much to the detriment of the country/state.
Child marriage is most heavily practiced in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa according to a Unicef report. While it affects both young boys and girls, girls are disproportionately affected, especially in South Asia. Girls do not face the same risk of child marriage across the board, expectedly, girls in poorer regions are 2.5 times more likely to be forced into marriages than those living in richer regions/countries according to the same Unicef report. According to UNPFA, the most common ages for child marriages are 16 and 17, marriages that occur with ages younger are considered “very early marriages” and although rarer, are still prevalent within cultures that practice child marriage.
So why does this happen? Child marriage is a complex issue. There is no one cause and effect that leads to child marriage and all of the issues that follow. Gender inequality, culture, tradition, and poverty are all factors in the roots of child marriage. However, this practice differs across all countries and cultures where child marriage is common. So how do we end this? The first step is raising awareness and visibility to this issue, but in order to end underage marriage, drastic change and mobilization within these countries on all levels is required. The necessary education and resources must be provided and properly allocated. Ending child marriage would only benefit the countries and societies in which it occurs, it is a devastating humans rights issue and it should be treated as such.
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