Tackling child marriages begins with 'you'

Child marriage perpetuates poverty over generations and is linked to poor health, curtailed education, violence, instability, and disregard for the rule of law. Here some children in Feni village in Eastern province of Zambia posse for a photo.

The scale of child marriage is huge: between 2010 and 2020 it is estimated that 142 million girls will marry as children.

But if we act to prevent child marriage now, we could dramatically improve the maternal and child health outcomes for millions of girls and women. Child marriage and maternal health are inextricably linked.

As world leaders, government ministers, civil society organisations and maternal health specialists gather in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for Women Deliver 2013, a major global conference on women’s health, we outline 5 reasons why ending child marriage should be a vital part of efforts to improve the health of girls and women worldwide.

Pregnancy and childbirth are dangerous for adolescent girls; most adolescent pregnancies take place within marriage.

Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in girls aged 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries. 90% of adolescent pregnancies in the developing world are to girls who are already married.

Child marriage encourages the initiation of sexual activity at an age when girls’ bodies are still developing.

Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than girls in their 20s. Child brides are also vulnerable to obstetric fistula, a preventable yet debilitating injury resulting from obstructed labour or prolonged childbirth. 65% of all cases of obstetric fistula occur in girls under the age of 18.

Child brides are under intense social pressure to prove their fertility.

Child brides often face pressure from their husband’s family, their own family and the wider community to have children soon after marriage.

They become mothers at an early age, which makes them more likely to experience early and frequent pregnancies.

Child brides have little power to plan whether, when or how many children to have.

It is very difficult to for child brides to assert their wishes with their often older husbands. It is hard for them to exercise their right to family planning and to choose when and whether to have children.

Child brides are particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Child brides lack the knowledge or power to abstain from sex or to negotiate safe sexual practices with their often older and more sexually experienced husbands.

The practice of child marriage is a violation of human rights. Every day, girls around the world are forced to leave their families, marry against their will, endure sexual and physical abuse, and bear children while still in childhood themselves.

This practice is driven by poverty, deeply embedded cultural traditions, and pervasive discrimination against girls.

Yet in many parts of the world, this ancient practice still flourishes: estimates show that nearly five million girls are married under the age of fifteen every year, and some are as young as eight or nine years old.

Child marriage, however, is not simply a human rights violation. It is also a threat to the prosperity and stability of the countries in which it is prevalent and undermines development and policy priorities.

Child marriage perpetuates poverty over generations and is linked to poor health, curtailed education, violence, instability, and disregard for the rule of law.

Its effects are harmful not only to girls, but also to families, communities, and economies and to any national interest around the globe.