Child marriage is rooted in inequality between men and women and discriminatory views towards a girl’s value, sexuality, and role in society. Girls as young as 12 years old are married around the world and the number of child marriages in the African continent is staggering.
Week 39 of the #MakeOverMonday challenge talks about the percentage of women who are married within the age of 15 and 18 along with that of male children who are married under 18 years of age. Niger recorded the most number of marriages among females who are under 18 years of age. For every 100 girls who are under 18 years of age, 76 are child brides.
There are a lot of factors that may put a child at risk of marriage, including poverty, religious laws that condone the practice, the perception that marriage will provide ‘Safety’ and the state of a country’s civil registration system. Child Marriages cripple a girl’s development by resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation. This in turn spoils her career altogether.
Though the child marriage rates have reduced over the past few years, it is still alarmingly prevalent. You can donate towards the movement to stop child marriages by clicking here.