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On December 19, 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 and declared October 11 as International Day of the Girl. Since then, the day has been used to affirm and promote the rights of girls and shed light on the unique challenges girls face around the world. The theme for the International Day of the Girl 2020 is “My voice, our equal future”. The campaign calls for girls to “live free from gender violence, harmful practices, HIV and AIDS; learn new skills into the future of their choice; lead as a generation of activists accelerating social change. ”
Six-year-old Farzana sits with her mother, Zarmina, in the family’s shelter at an IDP camp in Herat … [+]
Girls must be allowed to be girls. Girls should not become girlfriends before their age and before they can freely decide about their future. Girls should not be deprived of their freedom or separated from their families. Girls must not be raped or sexually abused. Yet in many countries, even in 2020, girls, and especially girls from religious minority groups, continue to be abducted, converted and forcibly married to their abductors. In fact, for example, in Pakistan, researchers estimate that approximately 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are subjected to these types of crimes each year, this figure being a very conservative assessment. Similar cases, on a large scale, have been observed in many other countries, including Nigeria and Egypt. These numbers add up. In fact, non-governmental organizations estimate that each year 12 million girls marry before the age of 18. More than 650 million women were married as children.
It is understandable that in each case the reasons for child marriage are different, forced marriage, kidnapping and forced conversion are just one of the methods by which children marry. Regardless, it is critical to remember that child marriage has a significant effect on girls. When a girl is married, this often means that she will not be able to continue her education. This deprives the girl of her future. Furthermore, according to research, child marriage has devastating consequences for girls’ health. It has been claimed that the leading cause of death among 15-19 year old girls worldwide is pregnancy and childbirth. Child marriage is also a major violation of their human rights and can sometimes amount to a modern form of slavery. While poverty can drive child marriage, child marriage traps girls in a cycle of poverty. Child marriage also puts girls at risk of physical and sexual abuse.
These should be sufficient grounds for ending the practice of child marriage. Despite promises to stop this practice, the data suggests that we are still a long way from achieving it. In fact, mere promises made by world leaders are not enough. To end child, early and forced marriage, entire communities must be fully involved. As established in the resolution that establishes the International Day of the Girl, “the empowerment of girls requires their active participation in decision-making processes and the active support and participation of their parents, legal guardians, families and caregivers, as well as children and men and the community in general ”, so the fight against child, early and forced marriage requires the participation of all members of society.
