In Iraq it is 18 for girls today. However, it will be 9 in a few weeks depending on how Iraqis vote. Also, the vote will grant fathers sole guardianship of their female children from the age of two, as well as legalizing marital rape.
Times are tough for many in Iraq. Financial pressures are forcing families to marry off daughters young when they are offered dowries. In 1997 15% of marriages involved women under 18 and jumped to more than 20% in 2012, with almost 5% married by the age of 15
Child marriage is not restricted to Iraq. Around the world 10 million children are being married off as child brides. In Mauritania it is possible for girls of eight and nine to be married. In Yemen, where the UN estimates that more than 50% of girls are married before they turn 18, there is also still no minimum age. Nigeria has also been considering reducing the age of marriage. And India, where rape has brought millions on to the streets in protest, has been revealed as having 40% of the world's child brides.
No comments:
Post a Comment