J8 Research Essay: Underage Arranged Marriage

Blanca Antuna E block

It has been estimated that in most countries of the Sub-Saharan region, the percent rate of under aged arranged marriage goes from 60-90.8%; and from this, the absolute majority of these girls are forced to marry before they turn 15 years old (FORWARD, Child Marriage, 2). Young girls who are sold into matrimony are perfect examples of victims whose rights are being violated in front of their eyes. These young women are sold for many reasons; however all revolve around the same concept. Parents sell their daughters off to either pay a debt, ensure financial stability or to simply get rid of an extra mouth to feed who cannot contribute as much manually and physically as a male. When they are bought, the new owner usually purchases the girl to use them for reasons along the lines of fertility, domestic labor or their virginity. The way in which they are treated is inhumane and torturous as they are the males property and he can violently hit them, abuse them, rape them and/or starve them; which occur in a vast amount of the cases in developing countries. The marriage to an older man deprives young women of freedom, forces them to be sexually active although they are mentally and physically incapable and traps their educational possibilities to maintain themselves financially. The moment a child bride walks down the aisle, her rights are completely discarded and she faces a life of imprisonment. Article 16 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states that all individuals should have equal rights in marriage and it shall only be entered with the full consent of both spouses (UNDHR). It enforces total freedom for a woman to choose her husband as well as the freedom for women to be able to exit matrimony when desired. The practice of underage forced marriage defines the exact controversy as firstly; the girls are given no choice to not only choose their partner however to even decide whether they are willing to get married. Secondly, a young brides whole purpose after being wed is to please her husband whether she can or wants too. Her freedom of movement is close to nothing and she has little or no say in anything relevant to her marriage. Minister of Women Development and Human Rights, Anis Haroon, stated that the practice of child marriage is an extreme case of human rights violation and generates nothing but trauma for the bridal victims (Child Marriage: Serious Violation of Human Rights, 1). Overall, freedom is a word that is foreign to a child bride and the more this practice is enforced, the more girls suffer by living a life behind bars.

J8 Research Essay: Underage Arranged Marriage

Blanca Antuna E block

When young girls are unwillingly exposed to a housewife lifestyle, their own dreams and desires are exiled and from her wedding day onwards, she must always be devoted to her husband. Due to the grooms of these marital celebrations are usually 20-30 years older than the bride, his sexual wants and maturity are much more elevated than an adolescents. Not only are the young women immensely pressured to have intercourse with her husband the very night of their wedding, but they are also constantly blackmailed by family and friends to conceive a child. The physical damages to having premature sex include getting infected with HIV/AIDS, being 5 times more likely to die during childbirth than developed women, heavy bleeding during pregnancy, anemia and lastly; an extremely high mortality rate for both child and mother during birth (FORWARD, Child Marriage, 3). It has also been studied that girls who marry under the age of 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence from their partner than their others, who marry later (Child Marriage Facts and Figures). Psychological consequences are also those of high risk as child brides are given no choice in anything revolved around their life. Their entire authority is taken and they feel as though they have been abandoned and helpless. This feeling then causes child brides to turn to depression, self-mutilation, eating disorders and even suicide. Overall, the physical and psychological consequences of underage matrimony ruin a womans life from the inside out and lead them to be exploited to a whirlwind or tragedy. Getting married at any age requires compromise, however underage forced marriage completely deprives young women to peruse education and any sort of job to ensure their own financial stability. Plan Egypt found that one of the most vital contributors to early marriage was due to lack of education for girls and their families (Plan: Early and Forced Marriage, 4). When a young woman is pressured by her parents to enter the world of adulthood, she sees no reason to continue with school as she is being economically provided for and has other things to prioritize such as children, house labor etc. Thus the young bride becomes illiterate and an extremely vulnerable target for further schemes that others around her create for their own personal gain (Plan: Early and Forced Marriage). Providing accessible education informs potential brides and parents about the immense dangers and consequences of physical and mental health when married under the age of 18. Educational resources can come in many forms and although ensuring each village with teachers in the expertise of STDs and anything revolving around child marriage is difficult;

J8 Research Essay: Underage Arranged Marriage

Blanca Antuna E block

making brochures, courses, seminars or even multimedia advertisements would spread the word of banning underage matrimony, letting girls finish school, chose when they are ready to marry and make their own income. In conclusion, underage forced marriage is a practice that enforces nothing but the deprivation of a womans liberty, the scrutiny of forcing young girls into sexual relations and the banning of young women to pursue education and literacy. Every minute, 27 girls under 18 are forced to be wed in Sub-Saharan Africa (Plan: Early and Forced Marriage). This global issue is a major infliction to proving gender equality and constant waiting to take action extends the time of which a woman is seen unequal to a man. There is no definite solution as to how these numbers can increase, but through NGOs the word can be spread and freedom, education and life can be returned to young women waiting to say I do and spend the rest of her life in agony and mental instability. Child marriage is simply robbing a young woman from her childhood, and as 14-year old Seema says: "Before I was a kid and now I'm having a kid. (The Truth about Child Brides) she is unwillingly forced to become a victim of child marriage for the rest of her life, right in front of her eyes.

J8 Research Essay: Underage Arranged Marriage

Blanca Antuna E block

Works Cited: "Child Marriage Facts and Figures." ICRW: International Center for Research on Women. Web. 27 May. 2013. <http://www.icrw.org/child-marriage-facts-and-figures>. "Child Marriage." Forward: Safeguarding rights & dignity. Web. 28 May. 2013. <http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/key-issues/child-marriage>] " Early and forced marriage - facts, figures and what you can do ." Plan. Plan, Web. 30 Apr. 2013. <http://www.plan-uk.org/early-and-forced-marriage/>. Hedayat, Nel. "The Truth about Child Brides." BBC News 4 Oct. 2011: n. pag. Web. 27 May 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15082550>. Karachi, . "Child marriage: Serious Violation of Human Rights." The News International 18 May 2013: n. pag. Web. 26 May 2013. <http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4178077-Child-marriage-serious-violation-of-human-rights>. "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." United Nations. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/>. Pictures on Title Page: Cobb, Jodi .National Geographic. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/09/sentence-handed-down-inafghan-child-bride-case/>. Sinclair, Stephanie . Too Young to Wed. 2011. National Geographic. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/child-brides/gorney-text>.