In this country, getting married at 10 years old sounds preposterous. But for girls (and boys) in some countries, it’s an unfortunate and even dangerous reality. Each day, more than 25,000 girls, some as young as nine or ten years old, are married to older men in developing countries. If nothing changes, another 100 million girls will be married over the next ten years. The impacts on their lives, and potential threats to their health, are severe.
This is an important matter for UNICEF because child marriage hurts the health, education, and development of children. Addressing child marriage requires both changing laws and changing cultures, and there are successful efforts in many countries that make a difference.
Though the U.S. Government recognizes the problem of child marriage, our great nation can and should do more to challenge this practice. As Americans, we care about programs to reduce poverty, promote child and maternal health, and invest in education; all of these are undermined by the practice of child marriage.
A bipartisan group of legislators in both chambers of Congress want to increase U.S. leadership in preventing child marriage. In the House, the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2007 (H.R. 3175), and in the Senate, the International Child Marriage Prevention and Protection Act of 2007 (S. 1998) set aside funding for programs to prevent child marriage. Just as important, these bills require developing an overall U.S. strategy that lays out how our government can fight child marriage and promote girls’ empowerment through existing initiatives and development programs.
YOU CAN HELP by letting your own legislators know that you care about this issue, and you support this legislation. Go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's advocacy page and send a letter to your Member of Congress!
