Just four days after her wedding, a thirteen-year-old child bride from Yemen was abandoned at a near-by hospital. The young girl’s internal organs were ruptured due to sexual intercourse, causing her to bleed to death. Though her husband promised to wait until her body was physically ready, he carelessly disregarded her parents’ wishes once he gained complete control and ownership of the young girl.
Forced to kiss their childhoods goodbye, thousands of girls are pressured into extremely early marriages. Every year, girls with ages ranging from as low as five to seventeen are given through marriage to men up to four times their age. Though illegal, the practice is sadly a growing trend in many parts of the world including India, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Uganda. The legal age to marry is eighteen, but underage marriages are conducted at midnight and kept secret to escape law repercussions.
One may rightfully question the motives and reasoning for doing so. National Geographic magazine attempts to explain the mind-set behind such horror, though it can be hard for outsiders to completely grasp. In some cases, peer pressure has an effect upon the girls. Not wanting to be viewed as an outcast or misfit, girls comply to the growing trend. Other times, it is simply because her bleak community has nothing else to offer. Ultimately, girls have no say in what goes on and no control over what happens to them, due to the lack of women’s rights in many parts of the world. Families may offer their young girl as reimbursement for a family debt or settlement over a family feud.
Parents easily come across as “the bad guys”, but in their eyes they are doing their daughter a favor. If a girl were to get raped or have sexual intercourse, she would be considered ruined for marriage. By marrying at a young age, she is ensured to be a virgin before her wedding night and bring honor to her family.
Ayesha was a tiny, ten year old girl who was indisposed to marry an obese man in his fifties, which is commonly referred to as “the story of the rat and the elephant” by many in her town. The moment the young girl laid eyes on her future husband, she screamed in realization and complete aversion of what her future held. Two years after her wedding night, Ayesha still calls her sister everyday and cries.
The International Center for Research on Women, or ICRW, reports that in over twenty countries 50% of women reported to be married by the age of eighteen. Statistics show that child brides are twice as likely to experience domestic violence, which consists of being beaten, slapped or threatened by their husbands. The young girls also face a very high risk of incurring HIV because their husbands are often older men who hold active sexual backgrounds. Even so, for women ages 15 to 19 pregnancy is the primary cause of death.
The ICRW claimed that early marriages are not only harmful for a young girl’s physical well being, but mental impediments are commonly experienced as well. Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and severe depression invade the innocent minds of these young girls.
Escape from this terror is uncommon, but not impossible. Some young girls will travel to the courthouse and declare a divorce while most are intimidated by the possible wrath of their fathers or the dishonor they would bring to their families.
If this trend continues, it is estimated that 25,00 girls will marry everyday over the next ten years, for a grand total of 100 million upcoming child brides.
A natural human impulse to rescue the girls may entail some violent actions towards the near-by adults, but effective solutions which impact the majority of the victims prove far more complicated. For such an advanced country as the U.S., it can be easy to forget that most countries do not honor women’s rights. The ICRW works to take a “path of action that honors women’s human rights, ensures gender equality and creates the conditions in which all women can thrive.” ICRW talks to real women in situations such as these and helps their voices be heard. Emphasis on education also grants hope for a greater future and halts marriage until the girls’ schooling is complete. To transform “good intentions into action” visit their website at www.icrw.org.
