Mar 11, 2019 · Nankali Maksud, senior adviser on harmful practices at UNICEF, told Global Citizen while millions of girls are still at risk of entering child marriages, Ethiopia is moving in the right direction to lower the rate. Denying girls their sexual and reproductive rights can lead to child marriage and early pregnancy.
Highlights The practice of child marriage in Ethiopia has shown significant decline in recent years. According to the most recent Demographic and Health Survey data from 2011, the median age at which Ethiopian women marry is 16.5 years1 and 40% of all women in their early 20’s were married before they turned 18.
Priest Degu Eneyew, 50, has seen first-hand how girls thrive when they are educated. He is a member of Bandani Kebele’s Community Conversation Group against Child Marriage, Amhara, Ethiopia. ©UNICEF Ethiopia/2016/Mersha. Degu Eneyew comments: “At the age of 38 in 2003 I went back to school.
Arvind Ojha leads an organization fighting child marriage and violence against females. Arvind Ojha is the head of URMUL Trust, an organization active in the Indian state of Rajasthan for more than 25 years. Rajasthan has one of the worst child marriage rates in all of India.Jul 22, 2019
The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, approved by the Imperial Legislative Council of India on September 28, 1929, set the marriage age for females at 14 years and boys at 18 years. After India's independence in 1949, it changed to 15 for females and 21 for boys.
But while it is illegal for children under 18 to marry, and awareness of the law is increasing, millions of Ethiopian girls remain at risk of being wed as children – increasing their vulnerability to adolescent pregnancy, maternal mortality, gender-based violence and poverty.Jun 14, 2016
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British colonial administration introduced marriage age restrictions for Hindu and Muslim girls on the Indian subcontinent.
Child marriage exposes them to violence, including rape, and it often forces them out of school and into premature parenthood. Child marriage is a tragedy for the individuals it ensnares – often the most vulnerable, impoverished and marginalized girls.Feb 1, 2018
18Although the Ethiopian constitution explicitly states that “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses” and the minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for both boys and girls, the laws are not always enforced.
According to the study, the prevalence of child marriage (marriage or union before the age of 18) remains high in Ethiopia, affecting more than one in three girls. In addition, almost one in five girls gives birth before the age of 18.May 3, 2018
Those marrying early may be more susceptible to domestic violence, poor mental health, and malnutrition. They are also more likely to have limited access to contraception and healthcare. These negative effects may then impact their children, with daughters potentially also marrying young.Dec 11, 2017