In the modern day, many have the notion that the issue, the very concept of child marriage isn’t prevalent in today’s society. Nevertheless, every year, over 15 million girls are married while under the age of 18.
Whether it is done for reasons of social pressure, tradition, or due to poverty and the receival of a dowry, this act cannot be justified. This deprivation of human rights can lead to both the physical abuse of these women, including sexual violence, or mental abuse due to them not being prepared to carry huge responsibilities such as pregnancy.
Over the past couple of years many countries such as Mozambique have removed laws that allow child marriage, however many countries and regions - (93 to be exact) from Cuba to Iran to many US states like Florida, still continue to enforce laws that allow their minimum age of marriage for women to be under 18.
Typically, the minimum age of marriage for girls is also less than the minimum age for boys. There are many approaches which may be taken to help combat this dilemma - for those of you reading who would like to contribute, you can take a stand against the policy makers by many means such as simply raising awareness of the widespread nature of this issue, or signing petitions.
Written by Lujain B
Artwork by Isabel
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