Child Marriage

Child marriage

Child marriage happens when either the bride or the groom or both are below the minimum legal age of marriage. It is sometimes also referred to as forced marriage because the kids are married regardless of their feelings and against their wishes. According to an the organization, "Equality Now", which strives to act against the inequality and discrimination that women go through, child marriage, "defined as marriage before age 18, is a violation of human rights, compromising the development of girls and often resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation, with little education and poor vocational training reinforcing the gendered nature of poverty. Most child marriages are also forced marriages, where the consent of the child is not considered before the consummation of the union. While boys are affected by child marriage, the issue impacts girls in far larger numbers and with more intensity." There are a wide range of causes and consequences of child marriage and a lot is being done to eradicate this heinous crime from the realm of human race.

English: A village house in Tongshan County, Hubei...

Roma (Gypsy) street beggers crouching to keep warm...

English: Prince Wolrad of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1892-19...

It affects the economic situation of countries directly and indirectly as well and violates the many rights of the victim. This is and has been a huge issue and has caused many controversies over the years.[1: "Child Marriage Factsheet | Equality Now." 2011. 27 Oct. 2013<http://www.equalitynow.org/node/868>]

Causes

There are societal as well as economic causes that lead to the existence of child marriage. There is a direct link between poverty and child marriage. This is confirmed by the third graph, "income breakdown", present on a human rights website. This graph summarizes the survey done in 2009 about the prevalence of child marriage among different income groups. The poorest 20% of the world's population have a rate of 56% of women aged between 20 and...