Children, Not Brides

This week we have discussed what defines childhood and what a child needs in order to have a fulfilling and ethical experience. In particular, we started the documentary Girl Rising. All three girls whose stories have been shared so far break my heart, but none more than young Yasmin from Cairo, Egypt. Yasmin was violently attacked by an older man and she had to fight for her life. She calls herself a superhero, and I'm inclined to agree. It would've been far easier for her to give up, but instead this young woman fought for her life, making choices the no one that young should ever have to consider.

The thing that struck me was that Yasmin, who was 13 years old when she was last contacted, was engaged and to be married. According to the official website of Girl Rising, "...despite our partner organization’s efforts to enroll Yasmin in literacy classes, her mother considered a marriage proposal to be a more secure investment in her daughter’s future." 

According to http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/ 15 million girls are married before the age of 18 years old. When we discussed what defined a healthy childhood, we stated things like proper health care, food, shelter, being able to play and be a child and education. While child brides may be getting food and shelter, they are deprived of their childhood, their basic human rights and their safety is put at risk. These little girls are not only deprived of a proper education, but they are forced into a marriage and then more often than not pregnancy soon follows afterwards, which that and childbirth are the leading cause of death in low and middle income countries.

Yasmin is a superhero, one who is worth an education and not to be a child brides. They need time to be children, and not be forced to become a wife and mother far before they should. These girls deserve an education, and to discover their self-worth. They deserve to find love and marry who they love, not just because they are obligated to marry as soon as possible because of their gender. These girls also shouldn't have to go through with pregnancy before they are ready or face the overwhelming fear of death from complications.

Child brides are what their name implies; children. I write this post with angry and frustrated tears in my eyes and my heart aches for the girls who don't have the voice to say no and became or will become child brides. If there is no reduction in child marriage, 1.2 billion more girls will be married by 2050. 1.2 billion more girls deprived of a proper education, who won't be able to play and enjoy their youth, and instead be thrust into the role of a wife and mother that puts their safety at risk. Let children be children instead of trying to mold them into nothing more than a shell of and obedient wife, married too young and was stripped of her youth and independence.