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1. Early marriage:
An international perspective
2. UNICEF
Concepts Arranged marriages
Bridal abduction
Forced marriages
Early marriage
Notion of AGE and CONSENT
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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.
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Explanations Maximizing fertility
Economic survival strategy
Protecting girls
To excuse a rape
Contemporary pressures
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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):
8. 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
9. 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
10. UNICEF
Impact Psychosocial harm
Risks of early pregnancy and childbirth
HIV risks
Denial of education
Violence and abandonment
11. 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
12. 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
13. UNICEF
Six key elements for change A non-coercive and non-judgmental approach whose primary focus is the fulfillment of human rights
An awareness on the part of a community of the harm caused by the practice.
The decision to abandon the practice as a collective choice of a group that intramarries or is closely connected in other ways
An explicit, public affirmation on the part of communities of their collective commitment
A process of organized diffusion to ensure that the decision to abandon FGM/C spreads rapidly from one community to another and is sustained
An environment that enables and supports change (Government commitment, civil society involvement, support in media)
14. 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
15. 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 womens networks, opinion leaders, politicians and community leaders (International Womens Day, 16 days of Activism
Work with media to emphasize womens rights, equality, access to education, freedom from exploitation and discrimination
Work with men to promote attitudinal change.
Importance of working at local level.
16. Stephen BlightChief, Child ProtectionUNICEF South Africasblight@unicef.org082 561 1426 Thank you