Child Marriage Research Paper Essay

sm all in all fry sum Why is the Act Performed Throughout Countries Around the humankind? gibe to the International Center for Research on Women, if present chela mating trends continue, more than 142 million misfires introductionwide will be coerce to wed adult men during the next decade-the equivalent of 38,000 girls both day. Child jointure is defined as sum forward the age of xviii (International Center for Research on Women, 2012). This wedding vocalismy is invete countly forced and comes as a concussion to the materialisation girl. Any day, at anytime, a four- stratum-old girl drop be entertainn from her nucleotide, sold, married false, and forced to harp a life full of threats, violence, and abuse. When I first heard of peasant conjugation I assumed that it happens in countries that bent that well off, whom be nonetheless sustenance in poverty. I was conducen aback when I found out that babe spousals is a course session bear on women all over the world Asia, Africa, the Middle eastern hemisphere, and in some communities in Europe and the Ameri rats (Worden, 2010).I indispensability to find out all the usual questions one would ask about a problem in the world today how, when, who, where, and WHY does barbarian spousal plain happen in all of these countries? After researching these questions in depth, amongst a a few(prenominal) of these countries I want to look into what infant jointure may devour in roughhewn in these different countries. In Afghanistan, statistics show that an estimate of 67 sh ar of all espousals be forced and approximately 57 percent of girls are married before the age of 16. (The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, 2010). Child marriage occurs in Afghanistan despite certain police forces that buzz off been made, collectable to glossiness and usances, justification of the barbarian, and economical problems families may face. Child marriage has been part of Afgh an culture for thousands of years, and trying to rid a country of a culture font angers a lot of the people living in Afghanistan. Child marriage is known to be apart of Afghan culture as a form of protection. When one tries to put an end to pip-squeak marriage in Afghanistan, the Afghans view this as going against the culture and traditions of the community (Yousef, 2013).Parents of a progeny girl, believe they are doing the right thing by selling, giving away, or exchanging their infant because they know she will be clothed, fed, and sheltered from the violence and sexual abuse that the country of Afghanistan is faced with. Under Afghanistansconstitution, the minimum age for females is 16, and in rural and urban areas the tradition of marrying off daughters while five-year-old in order to receive money remains common among the poor. (Irinnews.org) Families living in poverty is one of the reasons chela marriage is so exalted in Afghanistan. Some Afghan families cant afford to bear care of their children once they are born, so their best solution is marrying off their daughters. They view this as if she gets married, she will form something for herself. (Yousef, 2013) As if child marriage isnt a problem al memorisey, a huge problem arises once the marriage is in effect.The problem that arises is childbirth in younker girls who arent mature enough to carry a child to full term. This results in the baby not making it to full term, or the devil-year-old girl dying while trying to give birth. In Afghanistan, it is said that every hour, two women die while giving birth- the highest maternal deathrate rate in Asia. (Irinnews.org) This all comes as a shock to me as I read that most harmful pr feignices are crimes under Afghan law and inconsistent with Sharia law. Under Islam, marriage is said to be a mutual contractual agreement and consent is learnd by both the woman and the man for a marriage to be valid. The marriage of girls before the age of sixte en, is against Afghan law. (Gangon, 140) So why are all these marriages occurring? Well, it is said that the police and judiciary in Afghanistan much fail to bring wad laws that respect womens rights, and tend to take a selective kinda than impartial approach to administering justice. (Gagnon,142)Even some community and spectral leaders are prolonging the issue of child marriage because they are un give lessonsd, without any training on womens rights. Child marriage a practice that robs millions of girls of their childhood, their rights, and their dignity (Hedayat, 2011). This a quote from Girls Not Brides global initiative that launched in Africa, and made its way over to India. Statistics show that 40% of the worlds child marriages take place in India (Hedayat, 2011). Even though child marriages are illegal in India, priests still conduct child weddings, and guests still attend with happiness and excitement. The legality doesnt seem to impinge on the people in India, verita ble(a) though one would be supercharged with a fine of Rs100,000 ($1,600 in US currency) for not preventing or stop a child marriage. These marriages are still universe performed in India, more or less secretly.Child marriages are supported by villages in India, so when these marriages are performed,nobody informs the police. A difference in the midst of India and Afghanistans child marriages, is that once the young couple gets certified as economise and wife, they dont end up living with each earliest(a)wise until they are older (Around 15 or 16). It seems to me in India child marriage is opposed by the Indian government, and largely tolerated by the families, and young girls of India. whizz young girl says Had I been married later, Id pitch learned to read and write (Hedayat, 2011). The young girls are expressing that one of the biggest struggles with child marriage, is not beingness able to receive an education. If I was forced into marriage at any age before 16, Im no t even sure I would establish the emotional stability to even think about an education because I would be traumatized. This culture shock really intrigued me.The main reason why child marriages are being performed throughout India, is directly similar to Afghanistan. The two main reasons are callable to culture, and parents wanting their daughter to be better provided for by an older man, because they cant provide the type of life they want for their daughter. Which absolutely plants no sense to me Yes, they maybe getting all the necessary essentials to be surviving, barely these young girls are barely even living when they have to conform to through the traumatizing effects of being a child bride. Of course, many young girls in India also are forced into having a baby, resulting in deaths of the young girls and their soon to be child. In India, out of every 1,000 children born due to child marriage, 31 die before they are one year old (Resource Centre for Participatory Develop ment Studies, 2011).These statistics make me cringe, because in realism so many young girls and newborn babies deaths can be stopped, if this direful acceptable view of child marriage is put to an end. When researching child marriage in Africa, statistics showed that 42% of girls were married before turning 18 (PBS, 2010). As I was reading an article, I came across a horrid convict that literally broke my heart. I read that in Africa, parents consider their daughters inferior citizens and see them as potential sources of income. (Kamba, 2013). In Central and West Africa, 2 out of every 5 girls are married before they draw the age of 18 (Kamba, 2013). correspond to Kambas article, child marriages are being performed in Africa due to parents wanting to protect their young girls from pre-marital sex and unprecious pregnancy, which maculate a familys honour andmay diminish the value of a future dowry. South Sudan is known to have the worlds highest mortality rate, with about 2,0 54 deaths per 100,000 live births.The young women having these babies, also dont have a good chance in living, where as one in seven girls die due to pregnancy at such a young age (Kamba, 2013). Just standardized Afghanistan, and India, traditional practices play a huge part of why child marriage is still performed in Africa. Child marriage is engraved in Africa as an ancient tradition. Even though tradition plays a huge utilization on child marriage, the economic struggle of Africa also comes into play. Child marriage can be blamed on the countrys poorly-defined and contradictory laws as well as the governments weak execution and enforcement of them (Kamba, 2013). Overall, I can find some sense into child marriage being blamed on the governments weak enforcement, because if the country is set about economic difficulties, how can they have enough money and support to have a strong forceful government?After researching Afghanistan, India, and Africa, I wanted to see if child marri age is performed throughout the European and American nations. European and American nations dont deal with as much poverty as these other countries do, which made me curious to find out if child marriage is actually performed in these nations. I did some research, and even though there isnt much on the internet of child marriage in European and American nations, I came across a few sources. In Europe child marriage is practiced in gallium (rate of 17%), Turkey (rate of 14%), and Ukraine (rate of 10%). Ten percent of young children marry before the age of eighteen in Britain and France (United Nations Population Fund, 2012). According to Dr. Lisa Dana, child marriages are most common in the Southern part of the United States, because laws on marriage are more lenient there.In the United States, statistics found that 8.9% of children were married off young, which is dramatically lower than the other countries that Ive researched. All but two states in the United States require both the members of a partnership to be at least eighteen years of age or older to be entrusted to marry without agnate consent (Strat, 2011). I was surprised with how little information on child marriage I came across while researching Europe and Latin/ Federal America. I came to the conclusion that a lot of child marriages arent inform from these nations, or as sad as it is, it doesnt happen thatoften because these countries arent in severe poverty. So, after researching all these different countries, I asked myself two questions Why does child marriage even happen and are there common reasons of why this is happening throughout the world?I came to the conclusion that child marriage is practiced due to culture/tradition, poverty, security, and ill for authorities to enforce laws. Throughout all these countries, besides the European nations, I found that these four main factors play a common role in why child marriage happens. floriculture and tradition is unquestionably the main reason why child marriage is prevalent in these countries. Culture places strong social pressures on families to conform to everything the culture expects. If families rulingated to go against tradition, they face the consequences of facing disapproval or family shame. (Equality Now 2010). Culture plays a huge roll in families from these countries, and it is purely unacceptable to go against the culture that youre from. Poverty is another reason why child marriage happens. Families that cant afford to raise a child due to low income, look at the child as an economic burden (United Nations Population Fund 2012).If the girls arent seen as a burden, they are valued as capital for their exchange value in call of goods, money, or livestock (Equality Now, 2010). How horrific I cant even imagine the emotional insecurities these young girls face when being bargained off to hit-or-miss men who are much older than them. Security also plays a big role on why child marriage occurs near the world. Many of these countries dont have a unassailable home base for their children to be preventative. Parents want their child to have a safe future, so they turn to child marriage as a secure base. This goes back on the poverty aspect, if parents cant afford to take care of their daughter, they sell her off to a man whom can. Even though he really isnt taking care of her. In my opinion the child would have a safer future if she just stayed with her family, because she doesnt have the risk of being abused, or dying due to young pregnancy.Lastly, misery to enforce laws that have been made for women, and the issue of child marriage plays a huge roll on why child marriage is still occurring to this day. In most of these countries, there are laws that dont allow marriage until the age of eighteen, and many laws that are protecting women. Some families arent aware that they are hanginging the law, while others just dont care to stop because nobody is strictly enforcing these law s. In somecountries early marriage is so prevalent, prosecutions are seldom brought(United Nations Population Fund, 2012). If authorities went into these countries, and try to pin point exactly where child marriage is happening, even in the secret villages, and prosecuted the individuals performing in this act, we might see lower statistics.According to the Convetion on Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)- marriage before the age of 18 shouldnt be allowed since children dont have the full maturity and capacity to act (United Nations Population Fund, 2012). I couldnt even imagine being forced into a marriage at a age where I am barely able to read and write. conglutination is ones personal decision, not a forceful requirement. How could anyone force their two year old child into wedlock and ten years down the road force the child out of their home? The concept of child marriage makes me sick to my stomach and leaves me with an uneasy feeling. I am mist aken with children, and the thoughts and images that run through my mind about child marriage, utterly break my heart.Whether the concept of child marriage is due to culture/tradition, poverty, security, or ill fortune for authorities to enforce laws, there is really no excuse for this act being performed Young girls deserve to be educated and grow to be the best possible women they can in the future. Every girl, deserves the opportunity to cook their full potential. Child marriage needs to be put to an rough the world, but what can you do? The most important action to take in order to stop child marriage, is to educate and empower girls. procreation is one of the most powerful tools to delay the age at which girls marry as school attendance helps shift norms around child marriage (Girls Not Brides, 2013).I encourage each and every girl to educate another women they know about child marriage. Do research, find answers, make your voices heard. One thing you can do is sign UKs fi nd the Vow petition. As I was researching, I came across this petition that is spine the UKs government to take action and early and forced marriage around the world (United Nations Population Fund, 2012). You can take this vow, just like I have, and the world could just be one step at hand(predicate) to the world ban of child marriage.Works CitedChild Marrriage Facts, Causes and Consequences. About.com Middle East Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.Child Marriage in Americaa wellness Risk. BabyCenter Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.Child Marriage in the United States and Its connexion With noetic Health in Women. Child Marriage in the United States and Its Association With Mental Health in Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. proto(prenominal) and Forced Marriage Facts, Figures and What You Can Do. Early and Forced Marriage. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.Gagnon, George. The Unfinished Revolution Voices from the worldwide Fight for Womens Rights. Ed. Minky Worden. New York Seven Stories, 2012. Print.Hedayat, Nel. What Is It like to Be a Child Bride? BBC News. BBC, 10 Apr. 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.How Can We End Child Marriage? Girls Not Brides How Can We End Child Marriage Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. human-centred News and Analysis. IRINnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.Navigating Interracial Borders Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds Paperback. Navigating Interracial Borders Black-White Couples and Their Social Worlds erica Chito Childs 9780813535869 Amazon.com Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.Ryan, Rebecca M. Martial Birth and Early Child Outcomes The Moderating put to work of Marriage Propensity. 83.3 (2012) 1085-101. Meriam Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.The Dangers of Child Marriage in India. ChildFund International. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.Wondie, Yemataw. Early Marriage, Rape, Child Prostitution, and Related Factors Determining the Psychosocial Effects Severity of Child familiar Abuse in Ethiopia. Journal of Child S exual Abuse (2011) n. pag. Meriam Library. Web.