Blog 7 : Married at the Age of 12

The first UN International Day of the Girl which is designed to promote education for young women everywhere is said to bring up the perfect opportunity to finally get rid of the issue of child marriage. This has been an ongoing issue in countries such as the United Kingdom. Young girls are forced into marriages that are typically filled with beatings, hard work and rape. Often in these cases of domestic violence the police fail to respond to the cries of the victims. It is said that globally approximately one out of every seven girls is married before the age of 15 and even larger numbers between the ages of 16 to 18. Marriages at such a young age tend to limit the opportunities for the education for the girls, this is said to put them at a much greater risk of domestic violence from their spouses than for those women who are older and more educated. It also exposes the girls to risks of early pregnancy as well as childbirth, which is the leading causes for girls between the age of 15 to 19 in developing. It is also said that girls within this age group are more likely to experience domestic violence than older married women in general. Being as the power and authority in households are usually held my men and older women putting young brides in this environment typically leads to abuse and violence. Rhadia who was married at the age of 16 told Human Rights Watch, “He upsets me a lot, and he beats me... I can't leave now because of my children.. They [my family and in-laws] ruined me. They ruined my life.” Being married at such a young age can also be very dangerous like in the case of 12 year old Elham Mahdi, who died of internal bleeding just three days after she was married.

I feel that this should in no way be legal. These young girls are being taken advantage of and being put through awful situations at such a young age. These girls have done nothing to deserve this but yet their human rights are being snatched away. They are given no opportunity in life. It is said that government has talked of things they can do but as of now nothing has ever been done. These young girls are raped but their cries are ignored do to it being “marital rape.” Some of these girls end up with men twice their age and can do absolutely nothing about it. They are beaten, verbally abused, used as slaves and even raped.. I don't see how the government can just sit around and watch this happen.

 

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/11/its-time-governments-finally-put-end-child-marriage