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Armed with statistics showing that half of all girls in some countries are married by the time they reach age 18, the United Nations Children's Fund called yesterday for a global campaign to prevent the widespread phenomenon of child marriage. This call, on the eve of International Women's Day, is part of a new report released today by UNICEF. Entitled "Early Marriage: Child Spouses," it discusses why early marriage continues, and may even be on the rise among extremely poor populations. - Forcing children, especially girls, into early marriages can be physically and emotionally harmful, said Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF. "It violates their rights to personal freedom and growth. Yet until now there has been virtually no attempt to examine child marriage as a human rights violation in and of itself." By analyzing child marriage as a violation of a child's basic rights, the report seeks to build momentum for change. "This is another step in a growing movement to end the silent despair of millions of children, especially girls, who are being shuttered away in lives often full of misery and pain," Bellamy said. The report examines many of the implications of child marriage, from its restriction of personal freedom to its impact on health and education. For both boys and girls, early marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional consequences, cutting off educational opportunities and chances for personal growth. For girls, in addition, it will almost certainly mean premature pregnancy - which causes higher rates of maternal mortality - and is likely to lead to a lifetime of domestic and sexual subservience. Teenage girls are also more susceptible than mature women to sexually-transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Their vulnerability is dangerously increased because of the false belief in many places that if a man sleeps with a virgin, he'll be cured of HIV/AIDS. Prevalence in Africa
When examining the trends of early marriages in Africa, UNICEF found two groups of countries: those where marriage age is rising, such as Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Senegal, and those where there is little change, including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia and Mali. In several countries, over 40 per cent of young women have entered marriage or a quasi-married union by the time they reach the age of 18. By contrast, in only two countries are more than 10 per cent of boys under 19 married. Early marriage is generally more prevalent in Central and West Africa - affecting 40 per cent and 49 per cent respectively of girls under 19 - compared to 27 per cent in East Africa and 20 per cent in North and Southern Africa. Many of these young brides are second or third wives in polygamous households. In some African countries, notably Botswana and Namibia, few girls marry in their teens. However, cohabitation is relatively common. While the trend towards later marriage is clear for the continent as a whole, there are some countries, such as Lesotho and Mozambique, where the trend has been in the other direction. There are also cases where the stress of conflict or HIV/AIDS seems to be contributing to early marriage. Early marriage is less common Northern Africa than Sub-Saharan Africa. "Data are scarce, but we know that 42 per cent of women under 20 in the Sudan are married," a UNICEF report says. A Ministry of Health field study in Upper (southern) Egypt in the late 1980s discovered that 44 per cent of rural women married in the previous five years had been under the legal age of 16 at the time. Poverty major factor The traditional desire to protect girls from out-of-wedlock pregnancies is also a primary factor. A recent UNICEF survey showed that 44 per cent of 20 to 24 year-old women in Niger were married before they reached age 15 because of this concern. In the communities studied, all decisions on the timing of marriage and the choice of spouse were made by the father. Abuse is common in child marriages. Data from Egypt indicates that 29 per cent of married adolescents have been beaten by their husbands (or husband and others) and, of these adolescents, 41 per cent have been beaten during pregnancy. A study in Jordan, published in 2000, found that 26 per cent of reported cases of domestic violence were committed against wives under 18. Domestic violence causes some girls to run away in desperation. "Those who do so, and those who choose a marriage partner against the wishes of their parents, may be punished, or even killed by their families. These girls run the risk of 'honour killings' that occur in Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere," the report states. Preventing Child Marriage Education is key in this process. Persuading parents to keep their daughters in school is critical for the overall development of girls - and in the postponement of marriage. Sri Lanka and the Indian state of Kerala are good examples. Both have a high age of first marriage. Both also have given priority to girls' education. "This has changed the way men and women perceive their roles and potential, and has led to a greater support for the rights of women than is found in many other parts of (South Asia)," says the report. For girls who are already married, services must be developed to counsel them on issues ranging from abuse to reproduction. Girls aged 15 to 19 give birth to 15 million babies a year. Many of them do so without attending an ante-natal clinic or receiving the help of a professional midwife. These can have serious repercussions on the health of both mother and child. What is UNICEF doing to address the problem of early marriage? In addition to supporting advocacy and communication campaigns in several countries, UNICEF also has helped develop two successful initiatives in the regions with highest rate of child marriage, South Asia and sub-Saharan African. The Meena initiative in South Asia is named after the young cartoon heroine of a multi-media package and serves as a catalyst for discussion on gender discrimination in childhood. Issues covered include son preference, unfair treatment of girls in the family, their lesser access to health and education services, harmful traditional practices such as dowry and sexual harassment, as well as early marriage. Building on Meena's success, the Sara Adolescent Girl Communication Initiative has been developed in 10 Eastern and Southern African countries. The importance of staying in school is one of the main messages of this radio series. Other issues covered include, HIV/AIDS, domestic workload, FGM and early marriage. Source: Based on UNICEF
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