What
is Child Marriage?
Child
marriage is the marriage of a child (girl or boy) before the age of 18, but
mostly girls in child marriages are 7, 8 years old. Parents force their
daughters to marry some guy of double or triple of their age or sometimes even
more.
It
is a violation of children's rights despite its ban in various countries; it is
still happening. It is a global issue and happens due to gender inequality,
poverty, insecurity Etc.
What
causes child marriage?
Child
marriage is a complicated matter. The basic reason is gender inequality, and
females are viewed as inferior to males. And poverty, lack of education, bad cultural
standards, uncertainty, etc. make this even more serious.
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How
does gender inequality play a role in child marriage?
Because
of gender, females are valued less. Females are considered second-class
inhabitants. A patriarchal system is a system that is comprised of men, the
leaders of society. They control women. The value of females is according to
their virginity. They think that women's only purpose is to give birth and take
care of house chores. In short, they control woman's behavior, their dressing
style, where she goes, whom she sees, and whom she gets married, in the whole
male control the woman's whole life.
In
many areas of the world, if a girl has a relationship outside marriage or gets
pregnant outside marriage, she is humiliated for bringing dishonor to her
family; she is even taken out of school and is captured in the house. Parents
and other family members think that marriage is an easy way to clear the shame
she brought to the family and is the easiest way to get rid of her. They think
that it will protect family honor. So they marry the girl to someone much older
than her. Girls usually disagree on marrying aged men, but they are forced into
marriage. That afterward causes physical and mental issues for the bride.
Does
bad cultural standard causes child marriages?
People
follow some rules and standards in society and family, sometimes because of
society's pressure or power holders' pressure.
In
many places of the world, child marriage is happening for a long time, and now
it is considered normal. So no one says anything about it. Cultural standards
are made to control women and to maintain long-established customs. According
to these standards, girls become women when they menstruate. So marriage is the
next step. They think that if she menstruates, she can take care of the house
and give birth.
How
does poverty play a role in child marriage?
Low-income
families usually marry their daughters early to reduce the burden. Parents
consider marrying their daughters to some older man will be financial security.
Girls in such families are not educated or less educated. They have less
status, so they are dependent on men. So marriage is the only option to remove
one family member. And marrying a girl at a young age, the girl's parents will
pay less for dowry.
How
does child marriage affect education?
Early
marriage affects education a lot. Parents and in-laws force Girl to leave
school after marriage and sometimes before marriage in the preparation period.
And after marriage, no girl can continue her education, and her in-laws also do
not allow her to study. She is expected to take care of the house and to extend
family. Early pregnancy also becomes a hurdle in getting an education. And
after the child, she can't study because she has to take care of the kid.
In
any rare case, when her in-laws allow her to study after marriage, her ability
to study affects a lot, and in the end, she gives up study.
Where
do child marriages happen?
It
isn't easy to imagine some countries in this age allow child marriages. In
child marriages, racial, social, and religious borders are crossed. Child
marriages happen in almost all countries of the world, even in America and
Europe. People usually think that this type of marriage only happens in the
Middle East, Asia, and immigrant countries, but that's not the case. It also happens
in developed countries. Nigeria has the largest rate of child marriages
throughout the world. The child marriage rate in Nigeria is 76 percent. But,
Asia is considered the home of child brides.
How
to stop child marriage?
In
child marriage, the bride not only suffers, but her next generation also
suffers a lot.
Awareness
of gender equality in communities can stop child marriages.
NGOs
and government should educate children and parents. They should be taught about
the effects of child marriages and about the damage their child would face as
child brides. If a girl is educated, then she will support her family. Families
should understand this thing.
Government
should make Laws to prevent child marriages.
People
should help low-income families so that they would not sell their daughters for
food.
Government
should offer small jobs to low-income family members so that they should take
care of their families.
Skills
should be taught to girls to work and study together to support their family
from a young age.
This article is written by Juwairia Malyk, one of the contributors at the School of Literature.
