The International Center for Research on Women writes that child marriage most often occurs in poor, rural communities. In many regions in these countries, parents arrange their daughter’s marriage unbeknownst to the girl. Therefore, one day a young girl may be at home playing with her siblings, and the next, she’s married off and sent to live in another village with her husband and his family. These girls are pulled out of school, and once married they are more likely to become victims of domestic violence and suffer health complications which are associated with early sexual activity and childbearing.
On March 8, 2013, Al Jazeera has reported, Child brides: How old is too young to marry? The United Nations has warned that millions more young girls are destined to become child brides, and has said if current trends hold many will be under the age of 15.
The UN has predicted that 140 million girls will become child brides between 2011 and 2020. That amounts to more than 14 million girls a year the UN says will marry too young,
which is about 39,000 each and every day. Furthermore, the UN says 50 million will be under the age of 15.
The UN has identified 42 countries where there are one in three children under the age of 18 who are married.The majority of child marriages take place in rural sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The highest rate of child brides is in Niger, with 75 percent of girls marrying before the age of 18. Bangladesh is ranked the highest in Asia, at 66 percent. More African countries feature prominently on this list, like Mali with 55 percent and Burkina Faso with 48 percent. In Morocco child marriage is on the increase. The most recent figures show the number of young girls getting married rose to 35,000 in 2010, which is up from 30,000 just two years before. Rights groups want a total ban on the practice of child brides, with changes in laws which allow those accused of raping minors to escape punishment by marrying their young victims.
