Every seven seconds, a girl somewhere in the world is married under 15
Child marriage
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Syrian refugee Sahar, who was married at 13 Picture: Save The Children
One girl under 15 is married every seven seconds, according to a report by Save the Children released today – with girls as young as 10 married off, often to much older men, in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, India and Somalia.
Early marriage not only deprives girls of education andopportunities but increases the risk of death or childbirthinjuries if they have babies before their bodies are ready.
“Child marriage starts a cycle of disadvantage that deniesgirls the most basic rights to learn, develop and be children,”said Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
“Girls who marry too early often can’t attend school andare more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and rape. Theyfall pregnant and are exposed to STIs including HIV.”
The report ranks countries from the best to the worst inwhich to be a girl, based on child marriage, schooling, teenpregnancy, maternal deaths and number of female lawmakers. Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia were ranked at the bottom of the index.
Researchers say conflict, poverty and humanitarian crisesare major factors that leave girls exposed to underage marriage.
Somalian former child bride Aisha, 15, and her two-year-old son RayanPicture: Save The Children
The shutting down of schools in the wake of the Ebolaoutbreak led to an estimated 14,000 teen pregnancies in SierraLeone during the Ebola outbreak, Save the Children said.
The global charity gave the example of Sahar, who did notwant to give her real name, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee inLebanon. Married to a 20-year-old man, aged just 13, Sahar isnow two months pregnant.
“The wedding day, I was imagining it would be a great daybut it wasn’t. It was all misery. It was full of sadness,” Savethe Children quoted Sahar as saying.
“I feel really blessed that I am having a baby. But I am achild raising a child.”
The United Nations’ children’s agency UNICEF estimates the number ofwomen married in childhood will grow from 700 million today toaround 950 million by 2030.
Save the Children’s report coincides with International Dayof the Girl today, which was set up by the United Nationsin 2011 to recognise the rights of the 1.1 billion girls aroundthe world and the challenges they face.
The , the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, corruption and climate change.
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