Boost Education to End Child Marriage, says Education Campaigner
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Photo: ITA / Saba Mushtaq
Child marriage is one of the biggest challenges to securing a quality education for all children. Yet in Pakistan alone, the legal right to 12 years of education is often unfulfilled: children spend only 4.7 years in school on average. The fact that 40 per cent of girls in Pakistan are married before the age of 18 is a significant factor in the shortfall.
ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï has partnered with on the first Child Marriage Free Zone in the Matiari district in Pakistan. Last week Baela Raza Jamil, Education Campaigner and Trustee for ITA, wrote a blog on Child Marriage for the #UpForSchool page on recounting her experiences of meeting local campaigners – mothers, daughters and pupils – who are determined for change. She writes:
“With a full cycle of education, girls can learn more, earn more, be less at risk of harm and protect themselves from being victims of child marriages. More than that, with a full education they would help break the poverty cycle and let their families and communities prosper.â€
Click to read the full article. Click to read more about the Child Marriage Free Zone.