Essay on genderjustice with reference to child marriage
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few years ago, there would not have been a girl summit on child marriage. Many people dismissed the practice as tradition or too tricky a problem to overcome, so the issue never made it to the top of the agenda. While many still think these things, the world has come a long way in tackling the issue.
Recently, there have been many encouraging signs of progress: the African Union has launched a campaign to encourage governments across the continent to combat child marriage; last month, the UN's human rights council held its first panel discussion on ending child, early and forced marriage in Geneva.
Child marriage happens for many reasons: poverty, fears about girls' safety, a perceived lack of other options. But, ultimately, it happens to girls because they are girls. Approximately 14 million under-18s are married each year, and the overwhelming majority of them are girls. Child marriage is driven by social norms that accord girls little value.
The consequences of such unions are more devastating for girls. Soon after marriage, child brides are expected to prove their fertility – to become mothers even though they are still children. Their bodies are not ready to cope with pregnancy and childbirth. When under-15s give birth, they are five times more likely to die in labour than women in their early 20s.
In many cases, marriage becomes the only life that child brides know. Out of school and with few employment prospects, they are almost entirely dependent on their often much older husbands. Not only does this make girls more vulnerable to abusive relationships, it gives them few options to leave and provide for themselves and their children. As long as it exists, child marriage will stand in the way of gender equality.
Girls Not Brides was founded as a partnership of civil society organisations because of our shared belief in the crucial role of grassroots activism: ultimately, change will happen in the lives of girls and their immediate surroundings when families and communities reject child marriage and embrace roles for girls beyond wedlock.