Adolescent Wives

Forced child marriage is very harmful to

young girls. It can have lasting physical and
mental effects on the young girls. Poverty,
parents not wanting to take care of their
daughters, and culture are all big causes of
forced child marriage. Child marriage can
also have severe physical and mental effects
that might never go away. Today, there are
approximately 700 million women alive
today that have been forced into a marriage.
This kind of activity take place in poor
countries and continents such as Africa and
Asia.

Causes
Some causes of forced child marriage are
poverty, lack of education, family not
wanting to take care of them, and many,
many more reasons. Strong influence of
culture and community perceptions, varying
interpretation of religion, and protecting
family honor are why some women
participate. (Nasrollah). This shows us that
there are many varying factors that may
cause a women to marry early. A way that
some women stay out of young marriage is
to get an education, Education delays at
which a woman marries. Education provides
an alternative other than marriage. (PBS
10) Education is another way to go in life
other than being forced into marriage at such
a young age. Lots of girls that dont finish
their education and get married tend to not
get anywhere in love other than cooking and
cleaning and taking care of their house.
Evidence shows that girls who marry early
often abandon formal education and become
pregnant. (Unicef ),

Emily Scherer

Effects
Some effects of child marriage are lasting
physical and mental effects. Some lasting
physical effects are damage to the girls
body during child birth, and effects of
physical abuse from their husband, Girls
who marry before 18 are more likely to
experience domestic violence than their
peers who marry later, (ICRW 5) Husbands
are very abusive to their young wives and
expect them to listen and do what they say at
all times, which isnt fair to a woman who
has her own Child brides show signs of
sexual abuse and PTSD and feelings such as
helplessness, and severe depression. (ICRW
5). Pregnancy before 18 is very harmful on a
womens body and they are more likely to
die during giving birth to their child, and the
child is very likely to have birth defects
(Grams). Getting pregnant at such a young
age is dangerous to the girls lives and the
lives and wellbeing of their children. These
kind of problems can be avoided if we stop
child marriage and let them marry when
they feel it is time.

Where does forced child

marriage take place?
Forced child marriage general takes place in
countries that tend to be more poor and
rural. But it can also occur in countries such
as the United States that are wealthy and
developed. The worlds poorest countries
have the highest rate of child marriages
(PBS 11). Poverty plays a huge role in why
families marry off their daughter/daughters
at such a young age. Throughout the world,
many of the countries in the world that use
child marriage are in Africa. 9 out of 10
countries with the highest rates of child
marriages are in Africa (Grams 5). Forced
child marriage can also take place in poor
counties in Asia, where poverty dominates
the population.

Some people say this kind of arranged

marriage is a breech in the rights of women.
Why are just women forced into marriage?
That question has never been answered just
given different opinions on why a woman is
forced into a young marriage. Marrying
girls under 18 years old is rooted in gender
discrimination (Unicef ), Lots of people
think that this kind of marriage is wrong and
a violation of womens rights, but on the
other hand some people say it is a way to
honor a girls family and herself (Chopra).
In poorer countries, girls arent thought of
the same way as boys. They are thought to
be Extra baggage to the family. Girls are
valued less than boys, so poor families see
them as a burden (Day of The Girl). Poor
families see young girls unhelpful and as an
extra mouth to feed at home, so they marry
them off to avoid going completely broke
and not wanting to take care of her. A
women has rights and by doing this to her
by forcing her into marriage they are taking
away her natural rights to happiness and
love. Forced child marriage is always being
debated about if it is right or wrong. In rich
countries most people view it as wrong, but
in poorer countries, that is the only option a
family thinks is right.

Working together
Why arent men forced
into marriage?
Wouldnt this kind of act seem like a
violation to womens rights? Shouldnt a
woman be able to be happy and chose who
she wants to spend the rest of her life with?
That question is still being asked around the
world by many different groups of people.

Child marriage is an issue around the world.

It is looked down upon by many people, and
looked at as an unfair act and taking away a
womens right. Together, everyone can work
to put a stop to this unfair treatment of
women and young girls by not forcing them
into marriage and letting them marry who
they want to and are in love with.

WORKS CITED

Grams Nellie. Ending child marriage in Africa. Herizons summer 2014: 10+. Student resources
in context. Web 27. Jan. 2015.

Nassrullah. Muzzam, et al. Knowledge and attitude towards child marriage practice among
women married as children-a qualitive study in urban slums of Lahore, Pakistan BMC public
health 14.1

www.blogher.com
Child Marriage. Day of the Girl., n.d. Web. 27 Jan,2015

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 28Jan. 2015

www.prb.org