World ‘must speak with one voice’ on girls forced into marriage
Global action is needed to stop girls being robbed of their childhood through forced marriages.
That was the message that came across loud and clear at an event in London on March 4 ahead of International Women's Day.
One in three girls in the developing world will be married by their 18th birthday and one in nine is married by the age of 15, Shockingly, some will be as young as eight.
At the event hosted by , and the , the key speech was given by UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening.
She said the campaigning work done towards ending female genital mutilation (FGM) must be extended to early and forced marriage (EFM).
Greening said: Â鶹APPœThe first step to tackling EFM and FGM is to make sure the international community is speaking with one voice.
Â鶹APPœEvery year 14 million girls and women are forced to marry early or against their will. When a girl cannot decide for herself when to marry and have children, itÂ鶹APP™s not just a tragedy for her, itÂ鶹APP™s a disaster for development.
Â鶹APPœItÂ鶹APP™s time to break the silence of early and forced marriage and recognise that it is exploitation as serious as any other form of child abuse.Â鶹APP
Her call was echoed by Tanya Barron, chief executive of Plan UK, the charity that works with children in the worldÂ鶹APP™s poorest countries to help them build a better future.
She said: Â鶹APPœEarly and forced marriage drives girls into a cycle of poverty, ill health, illiteracy and powerlessness. ItÂ鶹APP™s most prevalent where poverty is rife and where education and health systems are poor.
Â鶹APPœBut as well as economic empowerment, early and forced marriage is first and foremost an issue of rights and gender inequality. It is through empowering girls, boys and community leaders to protect and advocate for girlsÂ鶹APP™ rights that we will see an end to this practice.Â鶹APP
Also speaking at the event was Lakshmi Sundaram, global co-ordinator of Girls Not Brides, the partnership of more than 300 civil society organisations in more than 50 countries working to end child marriage.
Girls Not Brides says victims of early and forced marriages are at far greater risk of dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, becoming infected with HIV/AIDS and suffering domestic violence. With little access to education and economic opportunities, they and their families are more likely to live in poverty.
Lakshmi Sundaram said: Â鶹APPœChild brides are among the worldÂ鶹APP™s most voiceless and isolated people. WeÂ鶹APP™re pleased to see that DFID (Department for International Development) is helping to bring attention to child marriage, a problem once overlooked on the international stage.
Â鶹APPœWe know what it will take to end child marriage but change wonÂ鶹APP™t happen overnight. Successful efforts must be grounded in the realities of the places where child marriage is common.
Â鶹APPœThat is why we need to support the community-based organisations at the forefront of this issue, working with parents and communities to create a better future for their daughters. It is only by working in partnership over the long term that we will be able to reach all those girls who are being held back by child marriage.Â鶹APP