HRW: 15 million girls marry before age 18 each year

LOS ANGELES, United States (Kurdistan24) – On Wednesday, the International Day of the Child, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for an end to the abusive practice of child marriage.

The United Nations chose Oct. 11 as the International Day of the Girl to “galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls’ lives, providing an opportunity for them to show leadership and reach their full potential.”

“Around the world, 15 million girls marry before age 18 each year,” HRW reported.

“There are about 720 million women married before age 18 alive today; at this rate, this number would reach 1.2 billion by 2050,” the report continued.

The practice happens across the globe, in wealthy and poor countries, but it has the highest rates in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Boys also sometimes marry under the age of 18, but their number is far less.

Researchers conclude women who marry under the age of 18 have high health risks and are vulnerable to fatal disease from early pregnancy and childbirth.

Statistics show child brides suffer domestic and sexual violence at much higher rates than women who marry later.

Girls who marry are often denied education and thus the vicious circle of poverty repeats, reports indicate.

Poverty is a major reason families marry off their daughters in exchange for dowry or bride price and have “one less mouth to feed.”

However, activists argue the main reason for child marriage is in the patriarchal traditions that value girls less than boys.

Another factor encouraging families who agree with child marriage is they believe it would save their “honor.”

“Stigma related to sex and pregnancy outside of marriage, and lack of access to contraception for young people, also fuels child marriage,” HRW reported.

The practice is common in Iran where the law permits girls to marry at age 9 and boys at age 15. However, younger children can also marry if a judge rules.

A UN representative recently warned of a rising number of young girls forced into marriage in Iran.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said Tehran must “repeal all provisions that authorize, condone or lead to child sexual abuse” and called for the age of sexual consent to be increased from 9-years-old to 16.

In most cases, girls trapped in abusive marriage are denied the right to divorce according to Iranian family laws.

They are also unable to rely on family or social services, and in many cases have ended up killing themselves or their husbands.

Currently, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, convicted of murdering an abusive husband, is in imminent danger of execution, warned Amnesty International on Tuesday.

Zeinab Sekaanvand Lokran, married at age 15, confessed to stabbing her husband at age 17 after months of being physically and verbally abused by him.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany