{"id":813,"date":"2021-11-22T02:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T02:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/blog\/?p=813"},"modified":"2022-06-17T21:53:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T21:53:19","slug":"shes-too-young-to-be-married","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/blog\/shes-too-young-to-be-married\/","title":{"rendered":"She&#8217;s Too Young to be Married"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There\u2019s a problem plaguing teenage girls around the world.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though it\u2019s rarely discussed, <em>twelve million<\/em> suffer from it each year. In fact, in the first three seconds you\u2019ve spent reading this article, another child has become a bride.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Child Marriage in India: Teenage Girls Forced to Marry\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pttHSJCl4Ks?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Somaya\u2019s Story<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ten days before her final seventh grade exams, then-13-year old Somaya was married off to a distant relative. In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aVEK9bJZl7s\" data-rel=\"lightbox-video-0\">interview<\/a>, she says: \u201cI lost my childhood. I loved school and going to school. But [my in-laws] wouldn\u2019t let me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things worsened, as her husband began beating her and her in-laws encouraged and joined in on the abuse. For two years she suffered. But at age fifteen, she fortunately obtained a divorce.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Where Is This Happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, it happens nearly everywhere\u2014across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the countries with the highest concentration of child brides are India, Bangledesh, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Brazil. While Niger has the highest percentage of girls married before age nineteen (at 76%) India produces the most child brides (1.6 million a year).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s an <a href=\"https:\/\/atlas.girlsnotbrides.org\/map\/?_ga=2.72098515.1325952549.1631825216-645627084.1631825216\">interactive map<\/a> with stats on both prevalence and burden of child brides in twenty around the world.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why is it Dangerous For Girls to Become Brides?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a number of reasons. UNICEF (the United Nations International Children\u2019s Emergency Fund) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/india\/what-we-do\/end-child-marriage\">cites<\/a> the following acute threats to child brides\u2019 health and well-being:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Higher likelihood of domestic violence&nbsp;<\/li><li>Greater likelihood of becoming infected with HIV\/AIDS<\/li><li>More likely to experience teen pregnancy<\/li><li>Higher risk of dying due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth<\/li><li>Significantly less likely to finish school<\/li><li>Less likely to earn money and contribute to the community<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But Isn\u2019t it a Cultural Thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is in many cases. Yet, just because the practice is common, doesn\u2019t make it legal or any less dangerous.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Are Things Looking Up?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the most part, yes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNICEF\u2019s research shows us that child marriages in India have declined from 47% of the female population in 2005 to 27% in 2015. So the greater trajectory is in decline\u2014which is a major win for Indian girls and women.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However,&nbsp; COVID has created a spike in child marriages in India. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/goatsandsoda\/2020\/11\/05\/931274119\/child-marriages-are-up-in-the-pandemic-heres-how-india-tries-to-stop-them\">article<\/a> from NPR cites:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says coronavirus restrictions may delay&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>interventions against child marriage and cause a long-lasting economic downturn that will push&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>more families into poverty, which is a key driver of child marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Where\u2019s the Hope?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue is slowly gaining exposure and people want to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Girls Not Brides is a non-profit that partners with over 1,500 civil society organizations around the globe to end child marriages <em>in our generation<\/em>. The organization and its partners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Host traveling workshops that raise awareness in poorer cities and rural villages<\/li><li>Work with locals to report and stop child marriages from occurring<\/li><li>Support children who are or have been married<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Through their work, they\u2019ve seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MKOjnXmjlgs&amp;t=36s\" data-rel=\"lightbox-video-1\"><em>real<\/em><\/a> results. Will you partner with them in protecting millions of girls\u2019 childhood, health, and innocence?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Girls Not Brides: working together to end child marriage\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hSn0cFM1ebU?start=138&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>*To learn more about the issue, visit Girls Not Brides <a href=\"https:\/\/www.girlsnotbrides.org\/\">website<\/a> or read this <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.voanews.com\/child-marriage\/\">spotlight<\/a> from VOA News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/start-fundraiser\/\">Start a fundraiser<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a problem plaguing teenage girls around the world.&nbsp; Though it\u2019s rarely discussed, twelve million suffer from it each year. In fact, in the first three seconds you\u2019ve spent reading this article, another child has become a bride.&nbsp; Somaya\u2019s Story&nbsp;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[42],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>She&#039;s Too Young to be Married - AngeLink Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Did you know that 12 million girls around the globe are forced to become child brides? 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