KERRIE ROSHEIM UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN HDFS 892: GROWING UP GLOBAL UNVEILING THE PROBLEM OF CHILD MARRIAGE

Child Marriage Problem  Marriage before the age of 18  Often no consent from brides  Purpose: ensure virginity and protect from promiscuity  Poverty and economic concerns  Entrenched gender roles  Men prefer young brides  Secure protection in areas of conflict  Forced upon young girls by militants  Poor birth and marriage registration systems

Child Marriage Prevalence Source: UNICEF, Child Info: Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women ( accessed June 8, 2013)

Harmful Effects of Child Marriage  Curtails education  Social isolation  Sexual relationship damage  Early motherhood  Health risks  Power imbalance between spouses  Human rights violation Suntali Thami is among the 51 percent of Nepalese who marry as children, according to the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Image by Hanna Ingber. Nepal, 2011.

Different Approaches 1.Empowering Girls with Information, Skills, and Support Networks 2.Educating and Mobilizing Parents and Community Members 3.Enhancing the Accessibility and Quality of Formal Schooling for Girls 4.Offering Economic Support and Incentives for Girls and Their Families 5.Fostering an Enabling Legal and Policy Framework

Prevention Program Groupings  Horizontal  Integrated, multi-dimensional approach  Reducing child marriage is primary or secondary objective  Attempt to change behavior, norms and structures  Vertical  Aim: alleviate poverty and expand education  Combat the drivers of child marriage  Use existing educational system to provide incentives  Activist  Advocacy, legislature, and community mobilization

Program Focus: Berhane Hewan Ethiopia  Considered a horizontal program  Goal: Establish appropriate and effective mechanisms to protect girls at risk of forced early marriage and support adolescent girls who are already married  Objectives: creation of safe social spaces, reduction in prevalence of childhood marriage, increase use of reproductive health services  3 Components: Groups led by female adult mentors, support for girls to remain in school and participate in occupational training, community conversations  Improvements found in all areas of interest

Program Focus: Zomba Cash Transfer Malawi  Considered a vertical program  Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program: providing poor parents with cash under the condition that children attend school  Objective: to reduce poverty by providing additional income and building human capital through education  Delayed marriage and reduced pregnancy

Conclusions  Deeply engrained tradition with numerous harmful effects for young girls  Treat as a human rights issue  Consider cultural notions of childhood, maturity, and responsibility and socio-economic troubles contributing to child marriage  Address drivers as well, provide alternatives  Legislation alone cannot regulate

Nujood Ali was 10 when she fled her abusive, much older husband and took a taxi to the courthouse in Sanaa, Yemen. The girl's courageous act -- and the landmark legal battle that ensued -- turned her into an international heroine for women's rights. Image by Stephanie Sinclair. Yemen, UNVEILING FUTURES

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