Child Marriage: A Silent Health and Human Rights Issue Essay

AbstractMarri suppu esteems in which a small fry beneath the get on of 18 years is involved occur worldwide, but atomic number 18 mainly seen in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. A human rights violation, child espousals directly impacts girls education, health, psychologic well-being, and the health of their offspring. It increases the jeopardy for depression, sexually transmitted infection, cervical atomic number 50cer, malaria, obstetrical fistulas, and maternal mortality. Their offspring argon at an increased bump for premature birth and, subsequently, neonatal or child death. The tradition, driven by poverty, is perpetuated to tell girls financial futures and to reinforce kindly ties.One of the closely effective methods of reducing child marri get along with and its health consequences is mandating that girls stay in school. Key words sister brotherhood, premature marriage, Maternal mortality nipper marriage, defined as marriage of a child chthonic 18 years of age, is a silent and yet widespread practice. Today, over 60 million marriages take girls under the age of 18 years approximately 31 million in South Asia, 14 million in sub-Saharan Africa, and 6.6 million in Latin America and the Caribbean ( visualize 1). Each day, 25,000 girls argon conjoin and an anticipated 100 million girls will be espouse in 2012.1 Over 60% of girls are married under the age of 18 in some sub-Saharan countries and Bangladesh, and 40% to 60% of girls tole evaluate child marriage in India (Figure 2).Figure 1Number of women hoary 2024 who were married or in union onward age 18, by region (2006). CEE/CIS, Central and Eastern europium and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Reproduced with authority from linked Nations Childrens Fund. Progress Figure 2Percentage of women age 2024 who were married or in union before age 18 (19872006). Reproduced with permission from United Nations Childrens Fund. Progress for Children A founding Fit for Children S tatistical Review. New York Child marriage has been referred to as early marriage or child brides, but these terms are not optimal. Early marriage does not imply that children are involved, and the term is vague because an early marriage for one ball club may be considered late by another. The term child brides glorifies the tradition by portraying an regard of joy and celebration. Most of these marriages are arranged by parents, and girls rarely meet their future economise before the wedding. The girls know that later the wedding they will move to their husbands household, become the responsibility of their in-laws, and qualification not see their own family or friends for some cadence. Although child marriage acknowledges boys, most children married under the age of 18 years are girls. In Mali, the ratio of married girls to boys is 721 in Kenya, it is 211 in Indonesia, it is 7.51 in Brazil, it is 61 and even in the United States, the ratio is 81.24 Go toHuman and Childrens RightsThe United Nations and other international agencies use up declared that child marriage violates human rights and childrens rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that individuals must premise marriage bare(a)ly with full consent and must be at full age. In 1979, the congregation on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women stated that child marriage is illegal. In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child defined children as persons under the age of 18 years.Many countries passed laws ever-changing the legal age of marriage to 18 years, but enforcement of these laws, and of laws requiring marriages to be registered, is weak.5 For example, although the legal age of marriage is 18 years, in Mali 65% of girls are married at a younger age in Mozambique, it is 57% and in India, it is 50% (Figure 3). In some parts of Ethiopia, although the legal age of marriage is 15 years, 50% of younger girls are married, and in Mali, 39% of younger girls are married. Further more, in some regions, an arranged marriage occurs at birth.6Figure 3(A) Percentage of girls (aged 1519 years) who are currently married. (B) Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years married before age 18. Reproduced with permission from Mathur S, Greene M, Malhotra A. Too junior to Wed The Lives, Rights, and Health Go toFactors Driving Child trades unionThree main forces drive child marriages poverty, the need to reinforce social ties, and the belief that it offers protection. Child marriage is predominantly seen in areas of poverty. Parents are faced with 2 economic incentives to ensure their daughters financial security and to reduce the economic marrow daughters place on the family. Child marriage is first and foremost a product of sheer economic need. Girls are costly to feed, clothe, and educate, and they at long last leave the household. conglutination brings a dowry to the brides family. The younger the girl, the high the dowry, and the soon er the economic burden of meridian the girl is lifted. By marrying their daughter to a good family, parents excessively establish social ties amidst tribes or clans and improve their social position. Parents also believe that marrying their daughters young protects them from rape, premarital sexual activity, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections, especially human immunodeficiency virus (human immunodeficiency virus) and aid.5 Go toHealth Consequences of Child MarriageIsolation and natural depressionOnce married, girls are taken to their husbands household, where they assume the role of wife, domestic worker, and, eventually, mother. These new homes can be in a different village or town. Because of the high dowry paid, husbands are comm only much older than the girls (and thus have little in common with them) and their new brides are anticipate to reproduce. Polygamy may also be acceptable in some of these regions. As a result, the girls feel rejected, i solated, and depressed. near girls realize that survival requires embracing their new environment and proving their fertility. They lose their childhood and miss the opportunity to play, discover friendships, and be educated. Risk of Sexually Transmitted befoulion and Cervical CancerParents believe that marrying their daughters early protects them from HIV/AIDS. Research has shown the opposite marriage by the age of 20 years is a risk cypher for HIV infection in girls.7 In Kenya, married girls are 50% more likely than unwedded girls to become infected with HIV. In Zambia, the risk is even higher (59%). And in Uganda, the HIV prevalence drift of married girls and single girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years is 89% and 66%, respectively. Their husbands infected these girls. Because the girls see to prove their fertility, they had high-frequency, unprotected intercourse with their husbands. Their older husbands had prior sexual partners or were polygamous. In addition, the g irls virginal status and physical immaturity increase the risk of HIV transmission secondary to hymenal, vaginal, or cervical lacerations.5 stamper(a) sexually transmitted infections, such as herpes simplex virus type 2, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, are also more frequently transmitted and enhance the girls vulnerability to HIV. Research demonstrates that child marriage also increases the risk of human papillomavirus transmission and cervical cancer.8 Risks During PregnancyPregnant girls in malaria regions were found to be at higher risk for infection. Of the 10.5 million girls and women who become infected with malaria, 50% die. Their highest risk is during their first pregnancy. Pregnancy not only increases the risk of acquiring malaria, but pregnant girls under the age of 19 have a importantly higher malaria density than pregnant women over the age of 19.9 They are also at significant risk of malaria-related complications such as severe anemia, pulmonary edema, and hypoglycemia.Rat es of HIV and malaria coinfection are highest in Central African Republic, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where more than 90% of the population is exposed to malaria and more than 10% are HIV positive. Having both diseases complicates the precaution and treatment of each. HIV-infected patients have a higher likelihood of getting a more severe form of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. They are less likely to respond as well to antimalaria medication. Malaria increases HIV viral gist and increases the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate. Data demonstrate that the combination of these diseases proves deadly to the young pregnant mother.10 Risks During Labor and savingDeliveries from child marriages are too soon, too close, too many, or too late.11 Forty-five pct of girls in Mali, 42% in Uganda, and 25% in Ethiopia have given birth by the age of 18. In Western nations, the rates are 1% in Germany, 2% in France, and 10% in the United States (Figure 4). Girls be tween the ages of 10 and 14 years are 5 to 7 times more likely to die in childbirth girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years are doubly as likely.12 High death rates are secondary to eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, sepsis, HIV infection, malaria, and obstructed labor. Girls aged 10 to 15 years have small pelvises and are not ready for childbearing. Their risk for obstetric fistula is 88%.13Figure 4Percentage of women, aged 20 to 24 years, married and well-favored birth by age 18. Reproduced with permission from Mathur S, Greene M, Malhotra A. Too Young to Wed The Lives, Rights, and Health of Young unify Girls. Washington, DC International Center Risks for InfantsMothers under the age of 18 have a 35% to 55% higher risk of delivering a preterm or low-birthweight infant than mothers older than 19 years. The infant mortality rate is 60% higher when the mother is under the age of 18 years. Data demonstrate that even after surviving the first year, children younger than 5 years had a 28% higher mortality rate in the young mothers cohort.14 This morbidity and mortality is due to the young mothers poor nutrition, physical and emotional immaturity, lack of access to social and reproductive services, and higher risk for infectious diseases.Go toDiscussionDisheartening as this information may be, there is encouraging news. Data show that in countries where poverty has decreased, such as Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the incidence of child marriage has also declined. Media attention raises awareness of the issue and can prompt change. subsequently a highly publicized story in 2008, in which a 10-year-old Yemeni girl fled her husband 2 months after being married and successfully obtained a divorce, Yemen increased the legal age for marriage from 15 to 18 years. More importantly, numerous children, inspired by this case, have sued for divorce.15 Research has long implemented the importance of education for girls and their families. Child marriage truncates girls chi ldhood, stops their education, and impacts their health and the health of their infants.Governmental and nongovernmental policies aimed at educating the community, raising awareness, engaging local and religious leaders, involving parents, and empowering girls through education and employment can help stop child marriage. Programs that have shown success are those that give families financial incentives to keep their daughters in school, those that feed children during school hours so parents do not have to bear that responsibility, and those that promise employment once girls have completed their schooling.1 upbringing not only delays marriage, pregnancy, and childbearing, but school-based sex education can be effective in changing the awareness, attitudes, and practices lead story to risky sexual behavior in marriage.Main PointsOver 60 million marriages include a girl under the age of 18 years. The main forces that drive child marriage are poverty, the need to reinforce social t ies, and the belief that marriage at an early age protects girls from rape, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infection. Marriage before the age of 18 increases the rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in girls. High death rates during pregnancy are secondary to eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, sepsis, HIV infections, and obstructed labor. The infant mortality rate is 60% higher when the mother is under the age of 18 years. Education not only delays marriage, pregnancy, and childbearing, but school-based sex education can be effective in changing the awareness, attitudes, and practices leading to risky sexual behavior in marriage. Go toReferences1. Mathur S, Greene M, Malhotra A. Too Young to Wed The Lives, Rights and Health of Young Married Girls. Washington, DC International Center for Research on Women 2003. pp. 115. 2. United Nations, authors. demesne Marriage Patterns. New York United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2000. 3. Population Reference Bureau, authors. The Worlds Youth 2006 Data Sheet. Washington, DC Population Reference Bureau 2006. Accessed February 25, 2009. http//www.prb.org/pdf06/WorldsYouth2006DataSheet.pdf. 4. Alan Guttmacher Institute, authors. Into a New World Young Womens Sexual and Reproductive Lives. New York Alan Guttmacher Institute 1998. 5. Nour NM. Health consequences of child marriages in Africa. Emerg Infect Dis.20061216441649. PMC free article PubMed 6. Bruce J, Clark S. Including Married Adolescents in Adolescent Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Policy. geneva World Health Organization 2003. 7. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, authors. World AIDS Campaign 2004 Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS. Strategic Overview and Background Note. Accessed February 25, 2009. http//www.etharc.org/aidscampaign/publications/wac2004.pdf. 8. Zhang ZF, Parkin DM, Yu SZ, et al. Risk factors for cancer of the cervix in a verdant Chinese population. Int J Cancer. 1989437 62767. PubMed 9. Dzeing-Ella A, Nze Obiang PC, Tchoua R, et al. Severe falciparum malaria in Gabonese children clinical and laboratory features. Malar J. 200541. PMC free article PubMed 10. World Health Organization, authors. Malaria and HIV Interactions and Their Implications for Public Health Policy. Geneva World Health Organization 2004. Accessed February 25, 2009. http//www.who.int/malaria/malaria_HIV/MalariaHIVinteractions_report.pdf. 11. Marriage and the family. Accessed February 25, 2009. Interactive Population Center Web site. http//www.unfpa.org/intercenter/cycle/marriage.htm. 12. United Nations, authors. We the Children End-Decade Review of the Follow-Up to the World eyeshade for Children. Report of the Secretary-General (A/S-27/3) New York United Nations 2001. 13. United Nations Childrens Fund, authors. Fistula in Niamey, Niger. New York United Nations Childrens Fund 1998. 14. Adhikari RK. Early marriage and childbearing risks and consequences. In Bott S, Jejeebhoy S, Sh ah, Puri C, editors. Towards Adulthood Exploring the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescents in South Asia. Geneva World Health Organization 2003. pp. 6266. 15. Walt V. A 10-year-old divorce takes Paris. Time. 2009. Feb 3 Accessed February 25, 2009. http//www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1876652,00.html.