Adjaratou, pictured above, was around 12 when her parents forced her to marry her maternal cousin, where she suffered countless abuses. When she refused her husband's demands to do such things as cover her head, she was beaten, and therefore suffered two miscarriages (Too Young to Wed).
Adjaratou, is just one of the millions of girls and women in the western African nation of Mali, who was forced to marry as a child. Child marriage brings with it many associated children's rights abuses and health issues, such as Female Genital Mutilation (which in Mali is as high as 90%), early childbirth (one in ten give birth by the age of 15), an increased risk for HIV/AIDS, poor to no education, and sexual and physical abuse. Child marriages also result in larger age differentials, as according to the Population Council the average age difference in Mali is 12.7 years, and 15.1 years for polygamous marriages.
“Child marriage has far-reaching health, social, economic, and political implications for the girl and her community. It truncates a girl's childhood, creates grave physical and psychological health risks, and robs her of internationally recognized human rights.”(Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa -Dr. Nawal M. Nour)
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has no specific article on child marriage, however through it's articles and outline, it does list numerous protective measures against child marriage. The convention lists a child as one under 18, and thus age is a clear violation of the convention, however some provisions allow this age to be lower, that said even lower legal ages are broken. Many Articles of the convention are clearly broken with the case of child marriage. Such as Article's include The right to life, health, education, the right to be protected from harmful practices, the right to freedom from abuse and exploitation, and the right to participation.
In Mali the legal age for marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys, however Mali remains to have one of the most extreme number of cases of child marriage in the world. A girl may be allowed to legal marry from the age of 15, with her parents consent, however as in the case of Adjaratou, the child's consent is more often than not given. According to the Mali Demographic and Health Survey 2001, 25% of girls were married by age 15, and 65% (out of woman 20-24 surrveryed) were married by the time they reached the age of 18.
The unfortunate case of child brides in Mali, is that they are far from alone, as child marriage is one of the most neglected children's rights abuses. According to estimates from UNICEF now estimates that 60 million children under the age of 18, mostly girls, are already married without their full understanding or consent. Therefore the Population Council estimates that if child marriage continues undisturbed, another 100 million children will be forced into early marriage over the next ten years according to the Population Council.
Why are more efforts to end child marriage not being put into place, one may ask? In Mali the government must step up it's efforts to enforce the laws regarding age of consent, and see that consent is really given by the bride. One must also note that in Mali many efforts by International aid organizations are being focused into the fight against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.
"There hasn't been a really concerted effort to address the issue [at the international level]," said Naana Otoo-Oyortey, a founding member of the Forum on Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girls, a network of mostly UK-based organizations who campaign against early marriage and violence against women. "It's been a neglected issue." (child marriage is a neglected problem)
The report Ending Child Marriage: A Guide for Global Policy Action, listed recommendations in the following areas; Enact, standardize and enforce national laws, Create an enabling environment for social change, Develop multi-sectoral program approaches and partnerships, Priority areas for policy and program development, and Strengthen research and data collection systems. These specific recommendations such as; “Strengthening the integration of child marriage prevention and support programs into other government sector initiatives, especially in the areas of health, education, HIV and employment”, increase access to health and education, “Combat all forms of violence against girls and women, especially sexual violence and abuse, through policies and programs focusing on prevention, treatment, counseling and legal protection”
In Mali and across the globe, child marriage remains heavily prevalent, and the international community must give the issue higher relevance on their agendas, in order to ensure that the rights of millions of girls are enforced and protected. Please see my earlier post on Child Marriage for further general information and reference links.
Links:
Child Marriage Fact Sheet – UNFPA
Child Marriage Fact Sheet – International Women's Health Coalition
Population Council Child Marriage Briefing – Mail
Early Marriage: Child Spouses – UNICEF
Mali Statistics – UNCIEF
