The UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore has warned against child marriage of 10 million girls in developing countries, as they face short and lifelong consequences.Fore raised the alarm in a statement to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. According to her, child marriage increases the risk of early and unplanned domestic violence and less likely to remain in school. She therefore warned that 10 million additional child marriages may occur before 2030. She noted that girl child marriages; also increase the risk of maternal complications and mortality in Less Developed Countries (LDCs).
According to UNICEF, child marriages threaten years of progress in reducing the practice in LDCs. While lamenting incessant child marriages; Fore warned that; “IWD is a key moment to remind ourselves of what these girls have to lose if we do not act urgently including their education, health and future. “Girls who marry in childhood face immediate and lifelong consequences,” adding that they are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school. Continuing, she added: “The practice can also isolate girls from family and friends and exclude them from participating in their communities.
“This takes a heavy toll on their mental health and well-being.” She disclosed that with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 10 million additional girls are at risk of child marriage. According to her, the gains of fighting against child marriages are under serious threat. She said the threats of COVID-19 comprise school closures, economic stress, services disruption, pregnancy and parental deaths. “They are putting the most vulnerable girls at increased risk of child marriage,” she declared at the IWD event. She noted that even before COVID-19 outbreak, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade. She explained that this was despite the significant reductions in several countries in recent years.
“In the last decade the proportion of young women globally who were married as children had decreased by 15 per cent,” adding that this is equivalent to avert of 25 million marriages that are being threatened. She said even before the pandemic, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade, despite significant reductions in several countries in recent years. As schools remain closed, girls are more likely to drop out of education and not return. Job losses and increased economic insecurity may also force families to marry their daughters to ease financial burdens.
Worldwide, an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, with about half of those occurring in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria. To off-set the impacts of COVID-19 and end the practice by 2030 – the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals – progress must be significantly accelerated. “One year into the pandemic, immediate action is needed to mitigate the toll on girls and their families,” added Fore. “By reopening schools, implementing effective laws and policies, ensuring access to health and social services – including sexual and reproductive health services – and providing comprehensive social protection measures for families, we can significantly reduce a girl’s risk of having her childhood stolen through child marriage.”
