Hello Bloggers!
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has shown a crucial support against child marriage. In Bengal nearly 1/2 of all girls are getting married and about 1/3 pregnant before the legal age of 18! Children miss out on their childhood and most importantly the opportunity of getting a proper education.
UNICEF defines child marriage to be a violation against human rights and have identified a few consequences associated to it: denial of education, health problems and abuse. Due to this, the need and urgency of implementing laws that prohibit these types of marriages is stressed.
I think the government of West Bengal have to implement laws against child marriage, mainly to protect children and encourage the improvement/development of communities, therefore, instead of getting married; children need to gain proper education. I believe UNICEF's effort is the right way forward to voice the problems of the unheard.
What is your opinion on child marriage and how much do you know about it?
Hope you are enjoying the weekend!
11 comments:
I think that child marriage is complete bullshit, because these children don’t have the opportunity to enjoy their childhood, to find their own way and their own partners and above all to get a good education. Little girls are only used by their parents to get money. They are some kind of investment. When the girl is married and she lives with her husband, the parents of the girl don’t have to pay food and all that stuff for her. Is she even living with her husband? Or does she live with the parents of her husband or what?
Hi Agnes, Like you said one of the reasons for child marriage is: financial relief for the parents. Once married off, girls go live with the husband and the husbands family.
Child marriage takes away their rights to personal freedom!
I read in a report that, it has been estimated that 49 countries have a significant child bride problem. It's a tradition that is hard to break, because girls do not receive any support from their families. Uneducated girls are often married off at the young age of 11, sometimes even at 7! In many of theses 49 countries the legal age to get married is 18 but these laws are ignored.It is shocking but there are even secret illegal child marriages in the UK and US!
It’s a vicious circle. These girls who had to marry at a young age are uneducated and for that reason they count on their children. They want them to marry young as well and to bring them money like they brought their parents money. As said before, it's a tradtition. and I have no idea how this “tradition” can be broken by any organization.
Your commenters need to recognise that judging "child marraige" is a cultural issue- and a historical one, too. Many of those who criticise now come from societies with an unhealthy record of their own on child labour and child marriate. Western societies permitted "child betrothals" and marriage at the age of 12 to 14 was acceptable in Italy- back in the 16th century. "Childhood" as a period when kids are not expected to work or do anything but have a good time is a relatively new concept, and a western concept that does not recognise the economic consequences for a family of having an unproductive drain on resources. That the UN is taking this view is a sign that economic development is increasing the capacity of people all over the world to afford having children who remain a drain until they "come of age". As life expectancy increases, our ideas of at what age people should marry change too.
Child marriage is apparent in many cultures, from India to Africa to South America. The Guardian once covered a story about an 8 year old girl in Saudi, who was married to a 58 year old man and was unable to get divorced. In Afghanistan 57 percent of marriages happen to girls under the age of 16 and boys below 18. Young brides are mostly pulled out of education and interaction with peers ad are often exposed to premature pregnancies, STDs and dmoestic violence. NGOs try to educate young women around the world, but unfortunately the victims of such customs are usually the hardest to reach. I wonder how much a culture needs to develop to understand human rights and act accordingly? Can political laws/change really make a difference?
@ Catherine Sweet:
only because child marriage has a historical background it doesn't mean to be necessary or rather to be right, does it?
@ David Hetzer:
I think it will be a long process, maybe over a few generations, but I'm sure there'll be change in these cultures minds someday. I can't imagine that the whole world is getting more and more developped if there are still some states with "old fashioned traditions" like child marriage. It doesn't fit.
i also think it is very hard to stop child marriage because this tradition has been carried on for a very long time and it is not easy to change someone's mind or culture.
besides the parents need the financial aid consequently child marriage is the only way for them because they are not educated enough to get a job.
if they don't get married they probably have to become prostitutes.. and i think that that is worse than child marriage.
recently i read that more than 30% of the prostitutes in india are under 18.
Prostitution is certainly not an alternative but neither should child marriage be. I think that child marriage partly was a solution to financial stability for parents; however only if they become independent from their children concerning financial matters their children can break this vicious circle Agnes mentioned. In my opinion a possible way to do this; is by establishing a pension system or a financial fund for families which certainly is not an easy task particularly in the developing world. I hope that through economic development and financial aid from NGOs this tradition can be changed. But this is just my opinion
Child marriage is a difficult issue, because the government can't really interfere easily into the parent's decision if there are cultural reasons behind it... I mean you can't change culture that easily and fast, so it will definetly be a long way/process until children especially from India have free choice of their compainent... a pension fund would make the situation better maybe, but it can't solve the cultural intentions...
I think child marriage is a difficult topic to approach, especially as it is a question of culture. Cultural practices dominate much (if not most) of what people believe to be 'normal'. Although for myself child marriage is a morally wrong concept, for people of other cultures it may be considered a norm. Basically are we able to judge others and their cultural practices, and thereby attempt to enforce our ideals and norms on them?
-Alexander Atkins (IR student at the University of St. Andrews)
Post a Comment