Early marriage: An international perspective

UNICEF Concepts -Arranged marriages -Bridal abduction -Forced marriages -Early marriage Notion of AGE and CONSENT

UNICEF

Examples of early marriage -Rajasthan, India: To facilitate the passing on of wealth and property within the family -Niger: to follow tradition, reinforce ties among or between communities, and protect girls from out-of-wedlock pregnancy -Bangladesh: Free parents from economic burden, protect sexual purity, fulfill role as sexual and domestic servant. -Albania: Families in rural areas encourage their daughters to marry early before potential husbands migrate to cities in search of work -Ethiopia: In some regions, 40% of girls are married before 15, in some cases following abduction and rape to avoid a bride price.

UNICEF Explanations 1.Maximizing fertility 2.Economic survival strategy 3.Protecting girls 4.To excuse a rape 5.Contemporary pressures

UNICEF Early marriage and human rights -Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) – “men and women of full age”; “full and free consent”. -Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) – “betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect”; “specify legal age of marriage” -Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) – “Best interests”, “rights to express his or her views freely”, “protection from exploitation” “non-discrimination..” -African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1999):

UNICEF “Child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and make registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory” African Charter for the Rights and Welfare of the Child

UNICEF Considerations for national legislation -Often early marriage may be prohibited in existing civil or common law, but condoned in customary or religious laws and practice -National laws often discriminatory, setting a lower minimum age for girls -South African “Recognition of Customary Marriages Act” sets an appropriate minimum age and requires registration. -Allows children under the minimum age to be married with the permission of their parents or a court

UNICEF Impact -Psychosocial harm -Risks of early pregnancy and childbirth -HIV risks -Denial of education -Violence and abandonment

UNICEF Taking action – some examples Uganda: Teenage Health Information Service Bangladesh: Secondary School Scholarships for girls Egypt: New Horizons Nonformal Education Programme Pakistan: Involving Boys India: Grants to postpone marriage Burkina Faso: Refuge for girls Senegal: Community training to address FGM/C

UNICEF Lessons from tackling Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting -FGM/C as a self-reinforcing social convention -In communities that inter-marry, a single families choice of whether or not to continue the tradition is conditioned by the choice of others. -Through the TOSTAN “Community Empowerment Programme” about 3,800 villages in Senegal out of the 5,000 that practice FGM/C have publicly announced their abandonment of the practice

UNICEF Six key elements for change 1.A non-coercive and non-judgmental approach whose primary focus is the fulfillment of human rights 2.An awareness on the part of a community of the harm caused by the practice. 3.The decision to abandon the practice as a collective choice of a group that intramarries or is closely connected in other ways 4.An explicit, public affirmation on the part of communities of their collective commitment 5.A process of organized diffusion to ensure that the decision to abandon FGM/C spreads rapidly from one community to another and is sustained 6.An environment that enables and supports change (Government commitment, civil society involvement, support in media)

UNICEF Taking action against early marriage Actions should be addressed at those already married, as well as preventive actions aimed at wider society. - Sex education and reproductive health services - Education for girls -Support for girls in marriage and those that escape -Livelihood and life-skills for girls -Birth and marriage registration (including record of consent) -Advocacy and awareness raising

UNICEF Some suggestions for advocacy Campaign to ensure implementation of legal age of marriage Promote an effective system of registration of births and marriages Set up small scale studies into the implications of early marriage Raise awareness via social mobilisation involving women’s networks, opinion leaders, politicians and community leaders (International Women’s Day, 16 days of Activism Work with media to emphasize women’s rights, equality, access to education, freedom from exploitation and discrimination Work with men to promote attitudinal change. Importance of working at local level.

Stephen Blight Chief, Child Protection UNICEF South Africa Thank you