“I was married at 2pm and I lost my first child at 16 during pregnancy,” said Ranu Chakma. Child marriage is common in her village Teknaf Upazila on the southern coast of Bangladesh, even though it is illegal and a violation of human rights.
These violations occur even at a time when many countries ban the illegal practice, most recently in Colombia, where a law came into force earlier this month.
Here are five common misconceptions about marriage on children:
Myth 1: It’s always illegal
Child marriage is prohibited according to many international agreements, from the Convention on the Child’s Rights and the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination of Women to the Action Program for the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. There are still 640 million women and girls in The world, which was child bride, with several marriages with children that took place every day.
How is it possible? Many countries in principle prohibit children, but define the permitted marriage age as anything other than 18 or allow exceptions to parental consent or in accordance with religious or ordinary law. In many cases, these marriages and marriages are generally not legally registered, making enforcement of the law difficult.
Tackling children marriage requires more than laws; It takes to consider how society appreciates girls.
Programs such as Taalim-in-Nubalighan, in Bihar, India, where two out of five children marry within 18 years, have an impact. These programs encourage young people to think of topics such as gender roles and human rights.
“That’s why I was able to help my sister,” said Altamash, a male student whose sister wanted to avoid marriage of children and continue his studies. “When I understood her desire and how it would help her, I went in for her to my dad. She will now end her education and I am so proud of her. “
In Madagascar, information sessions are the key to changing minds and raising awareness of children’s marriage and other harmful practice.
Myth 2: Sometimes it is necessary children of children
Child marriage remains partially pervasive because it is seen as a solution to other problems.
In humanitarian crises, children’s marriage prices often rise, with parents who believe that marriage will secure a daughter’s future by making a man responsible for financially supporting her and protecting her from violence. Child marriage is seen as a solution that will maintain the credit for a girl and her family after – or in some cases before – she becomes pregnant. In developing countries, the majority of teenage births take place in a marriage.
Still, children marriage is not a real solution to any of these problems. Child marriage in itself leads to girls who experience high levels of sexual, physical and emotional violence from their intimate partners. Pregnancy is dangerous for girls; Complications of pregnancy and birth are one of the leading causes of death among young girls. Child brides and young mothers are often forced to drop from school and raise their future prospects.
Nicolette, 16, in Madagascar was so used to seeing her classmates disappear from school after getting married and getting pregnant, she never thought of questioning practice. It was until she participated in an UNFPA-supported attention session.
“I didn’t know we could be victims of marriage on children,” she said. Now she wants all girls in her community to know, “Everyone has the right to realize their ambitions, and marriage is a choice.”
More than three -quarters of girls in Niger are married while still children.
Myth 3: This problem disappears
Child marriage may sound like a problem from the past or the distant places, but in fact it remains a serious threat to girls around the world.
While the global child marriage is slowly falling, the places with the highest rates also have the most population growth, which means that the absolute number of children’s marriages are expected to rise.
The problem is actually global. The largest number of children’s bridges live in Asia and the Pacific region, the highest rate for children’s marriage is seen in Africa south of the Sahara, and lack of progress in Latin America and the Caribbean means that this region is expected to have the second highest spread of child marriage by 2030.
Still, the question is not limited to developing nations. It also takes place in countries such as Britain and the United States.
“I was basically introduced to someone in the morning, and I was forced to marry him that night,” said Sara Tasneem, remembering her marriage, first an informal spiritual union at the age of 15, when 16 years old. “I got pregnant right away. , and we were legally married in Reno, Nevada, where it only required permission signed by my father. “
To change this, actions need to be accelerated to end the marriage of children, especially by strengthening girls.
“I was 13 years old when my father gave my hand in marriage to a cousin,” said 16-year-old Hadiza in Niger. Fortunately, she had access to a safe space through an UNFPA-supported youth program. “I was talking to a safe place -mentor who, with the help of the neighborhood’s boss, negotiated with my parents to postpone the wedding.”
Today, Hadiza is an apprentice for a tailor and teaches the ability to become financially self -sufficient. “In three years I plan to get married to the man I love,” she said.
Nurse Suvannah Sinakaaba participates in pregnant teens at the UNFPA-supported mobile clinic in Namalyo Village, Zambia.
Myth 4: It’s a cultural or religious question
Child marriage is sometimes incorrectly represented as a religious or cultural mandate practice. But there are no major religious traditions that require the marriage of children.
In fact, cultural and religious leaders all over the world often take a strong attitude to children’s marriage, especially when providing evidence of the consequences of practice.
“We have always taught young people that both religiously and legally it was not advisable,” said Shirkhan Chobanov, the Imam of the Jumah Mosque in Tbilisi, Georgia. “We also explained to the young people that they had to perform other tasks, primarily regarding their education before thinking of starting a family.”
UNFPA works with faith leaders all over the world working to end children’s marriage, including priests, monks, nuns and imams.
“We see very good results in terms of averting children’s marriage,” said Gebreegziabher Tiku, a priest in Ethiopia.
Myth 5: It happens only with girls
While the vast majority of children’s marriages involve girls, boys can also get married.
Globally, 115 million boys and men were married before 18 years, according to 2019 -Data. These unions are also linked to early paternity, limited education and reduced opportunities in life.
Still, girls are disproportionately influenced by practice, with approx. One in five young women aged 20 to 24 married before their 18 -year birthday compared to one in 30 young men. Child marriage for boys is very low, even in countries where children marriage among girls is relatively high.
Youth Empowerment programs reach all young people with information about their human rights in Nicaragua, which has one of the highest rates of children’s marriage among boys.
Regardless of gender for the child affected or the country where the union takes place, children marry is a harmful practice that requires tackling a common set of root causes. They include economic inequality, limited access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and information and factors such as conflict. One of the biggest root causes – inequality between the sexes – requires urgent and renewed focus.
“While we have abolished the marriage children, we have not abolished predator masculinity,” Dr. Gabrielle Hosein, director of the Department of Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies, in Trinidad and Tobago, shortly after that country was banned child marriage.
Kevin Liverpool, an activist at Advocacy Group Cariman, said men and boys have a critical role to play.
“It is important to raise awareness among these groups, among these individuals, what feminism is, why gender equality is important to women, but also for men and for the whole community,” he said.
