Each day, 25,000 or more children are married and become child brides: and in Yemen, over fifty two percent of girls are married before eighteen years old, and fourteen percent are married before the age of fifteen(“Laws Fail to Stop Child Marriage”), which is the highest rates of child marriages in the world. In Iraq, however, eleven percent of girls are married before eighteen (“Child Marriage: Legalized Rape?”) while a new law in Iraq could lead to girls as young as nine years old getting married and having to submit to sex whenever her husband wants. (Aly)Sometimes, girls as young as ten would be forced to marry men up to four or five times their age(Birkett) and a husband can have sex with his wife regardless of consent(“Humanitarian News and Analysis”). Children ten to fourteen are five times more likely to die during childbirth than women in early twenties because their bodies aren’t physically equipped for childbirth.(Baz) “Married underage girls are subjected to physical and psychological suffering”(“Humanitarian News and Analysis”). This is disturbing because while in India, the percent of arranged marriages is 90% of all marriages in India, almost all being younger than eighteen.(Gorney and Sinclair). By the end of the decade an estimated 142 million girls will be married before eighteen years old, while one in three girls in the world are married before eighteen, while one in nine are married before fifteen. 400 million women in the Middle East between twenty and forty nine were married before eighteen. (Al-Ansi) These numbers shock people in America, but in the Middle East, arranged marriage and pre pubescent marriage is nothing to blink an eye about. This leads to the conclusion that even though Islam constitutes ma...
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...ons of women in the Middle East, and how utterly ironic it is that nine or ten is unacceptable, yet still as an adolescent it’s acceptable to marry? Another man said “What happened in this village has given me strong feelings. There was a girl here; Ayesha is her name.” The prophet Muhammad’s youngest wife was also named Aeysha, but this was not of interest to Muhammad now. He was extremely angry. “She is ten years old,” he said, “Very tiny. The man she marrie is fifty years old with a big belly. Like a rat getting married to an elephant.” (Gorney and Sinclair)
Overall, the evidence is overwhelming in favor of restricting the age of marriage in the Middle East to eighteen, an age where women along with men are mature and rational in choosing whether to marry, and if choosing marriage, who they wish to be wed; even though the Islamic religious standpoint argues.
Throughout history, women were not always well regarded by men. Because of this, most societies treated their women as second class citizens. The stories from, Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, illustrate how the portrayal of women affected Muslim society in the Ninth century. Sometimes women were seen as mischievous, unfaithful temptresses. Other times they were depicted as obedient, simple minded slaves looking to please their master. With the use of charm, sex and trickery, they used the labels that they were put in, to their advantage; demonstrating that women during this century were clever, smart, and sly.
Why is a ten-year-old child getting married? Is the “man” also ten years old? Why would an adult want to marry someone who hasn’t even reached adolescence yet? It made sense to them to sell their daughters for marriage once they started menstruating, but why would they sell off a child who probably wouldn’t start to do that for up to two years after the marriage.
In many societies, the relationships between people differ and in some ways are all alike. None so obscure as the relationship between man and woman. It is especially intriguing to witness the compatibility of both especially in marriage. Using the three novels Pillars of Salt, by Fadia Faqir, A Woman of Five Seasons, by Leila Al-Atrash, and A Balcony over the Fakihani, by Liyana Badr one might begin to analyze the different relationships between men and women in Arab culture. While any relationship is uniquely different, these novels will aid in getting a better idea about Arab women and their husbands.
Women’s rights in the Middle East are being restricted, therefore there are many different reactions. Some people were in favor of women having equal rights while there are some who are against women to have the same rights. Since before times, many countries in the Middle East have been taking women for granted and minimized their rights by telling them they can't do something or selling them as if they were prized. When women were treated as prizes it was a practice in Afghanistan called Ba’ad that used women as the compensation, for example a story of a girl named Sakina. She was a consolation prize so that her brother could marry a woman and the Jirga system told her she had to marry a 80 year old guy when she was like 18. This tells me
Discrimination against women by policy, laws, and legislation around the world is still a major obstruction to gender equality. These include laws discriminating against divorce, marital rape, employment, education, sexual harassment, and obedience laws. In countries like Kenya, Zambia, and Malaysia, laws prohibiting gender discrimination are present but do not protect women against laws on marriage, divorce, and custody of children. In Uganda, practice of polygamy, bride prices, and forced marriages are still in practice. In studies done by the U.S. Census Bureau, the average age of marriage for an American woman is 26.9 years, and most states feature an age requirement of 18 years. However, in places like Guatemala, Japan, and Syria the age requirement for marriage differ between the sexes. In Japan, girls can marry at 16, while boys marry at 18. In Syria, the limit is 17 years for girls ...
In 2013, the SNHR estimates that the number of rapes of women approximately reaches 6000, resulting in numerous cases in forced pregnancy. (Sema Nasar) This shows that some families will lose their mother and some husbands will have difficulty with their wives, and maybe there is population imbalance. A young Syrian girl was stoned to death by Islamic extremists in 2014. Cause it was a facebook account.
Originally, after choosing my topic, I had planned on focusing on the traditions of Muslim marriage-- however, the more I researched the more corruption was unveiled within the sacrament. I don’t know about you all, but I find controversial things far more interesting. I would like to preface my speech by saying although many of the practices I am going to speak about are widely accepted throughout the Middle East—however, this does not make them justifiable. Like all controversial topics, there are two sides to this argument. Arranged marriages, child marriage, and polygamy are practices passed off as “traditions,” but it is my goal to shed some light on the topic. It is not uncommon for couples to marry based off caste and wealth rather than
About states: In Ancient Rome, girls married between the ages twelve and fourteen as well as some young men married at the age of fourteen also. However, during the middle ages, women married as early as fourteen. But men usually waited until they were well on their feet and able to support themselves as well as a wife. In 1371, the average age for women to marry was 16 and the average for men was 24. However the age changed in the year 1427 to men marry in their mid 30's and marrying women about half their age. (1) However that's when marriages were accepted by society.
Child marriage is a global issue, transpiring in all parts of the world. Abducted from their home and family, young girls - below eighteen - are married off against their own will not only affecting the girls (mentally and physically) but the country as a whole. The organization, Too Young to Wed, says “… marrying them off at such a young age, they are putting the girls at risk and perpetuation the cycle of powerlessness and poverty.” Child marriages occurred throughout history and still an affair today due to society’s tolerance. And the number of young girls forced to wed increased and will continue to increase if society remains tolerant to this sensitive matter.
According to Reiss F. (2015), in the United States today, thousands of children under the age of 18 have recently taken marital vows- mostly girls married adult men. People have tried arguing that it is illegal since they would be considered underage, but with parental consent it is legal. Women who started off as strong and independent slowly finished off as scared and ashamed. The women were scared because they had no say in denying the marriage and they couldn’t stop whatever was occurring, such as sexual contact, or abuse. They were ashamed because their friends would judge them if they ended up having children and just for how their lives changed. From possibly living with family and going to school, to then move away from your family
Girls all over the world are forced into marriages due to financial necessity, tradition and to ensure their future. Most of these girls married are at a young age: “One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15”( “Child Marriage Facts and Figures”). The young ages of those being married reveal how crucial it is to resolve this problem. When child marriage occurs the parents of the bride usually chose the groom for their daughters; and these grooms can be three times older than the young brides. Some children are brought into the world of marriage at the of 8 or sometimes less depending on their cultural views. The following can be used to help reduce the impact of early marriage: reinforcing laws that are passed against child marriages, and providing information on contraceptives to victims of early marriage. The most efficient way of resolving the problem of child marriage is through educating the people who practice it about its adverse effects.
Since the 1970s, many countries in the world the problem of adolescent sexuality and first sexual experience at young age appeared. To make matters worse, the trend of adolescent pregnancy became increasingly serious. From the fact sheet of World Health Organization, there are about 16 million adolescent girls giving birth every year – most in low- and middle-income countries. Among them, an estimated three million girls aged 15-19 undergo unsafe abortions every year. In low- and middle-income countries, over 30% of girls marry before they are 18 years of age; around 14% before the age of 15 and complications from pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death among girls aged 15-19 years.
Although the definition of child marriage includes boys, it is mostly focused on girls married off by their families, before their eighteenth birthdays. It is prevalent mostly in impoverished Southern Asian and African countries. These marriages are sometimes planned as soon as the girl is born, or oftentimes the men who marry young girls – as old as eight or nine – with an offer of large monetary compensations known as bride price. According to reports by UNICEF, in Yemen, the average age of marriage is twelve or thirteen with the highest neo-natal and mortality rates. Despite the international outcry to countries where it is practiced, there has been little to no response on the issue. This paper focuses on the causes, effects, and possible solutions to child marriages.
I come from a Muslim household influenced by my mother 's traditional, rural Pakistani roots. Each of my sisters entered arranged marriages at the age of 18. While my mother values education for women, she also raised me to appreciate the traditions from which I come; she held to strict standards reinforced by deep-rooted propriety. I struggled to fight for my own education in a community that constantly encouraged me to
“Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18.” (girlsnotbrides.org)Each day there is 28girls every minute being married off while still being children. These are children and should be treated as so, and be protected. At a young age children, should stay children instead of having to worry about what life will bring in child marriage. Child marriage should be banned it, destroys the bright future of a child forever.