Every seven seconds, a girl somewhere in the world is married under 15
Child marriage
Syrian refugee Sahar, who was married at 13 Picture: Save The Children
One girl under 15 is married every seven seconds, according to a report by Save the Children released today 国产视频 with girls as young as 10 married off, often to much older men, in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, India and Somalia.
Early marriage not only deprives girls of education and听opportunities but increases the risk of death or childbirth听injuries if they have babies before their bodies are ready.
国产视频淐hild marriage starts a cycle of disadvantage that denies听girls the most basic rights to learn, develop and be children,国产视频澨齭aid Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
国产视频淕irls who marry too early often can国产视频檛 attend school and听are more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and rape. They听fall pregnant and are exposed to STIs including HIV.国产视频
SYRIAN REFUGEE GIRLS AT RISK OF CHILD MARRIAGE AND EXPLOITATION
The report ranks countries from the best to the worst in听which to be a girl, based on child marriage, schooling, teen听pregnancy, maternal deaths and number of female lawmakers. Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia were ranked at the bottom of the index.
Researchers say conflict, poverty and humanitarian crises听are major factors that leave girls exposed to underage marriage.
Somalian former child bride Aisha, 15, and her two-year-old son Rayan听Picture: Save The Children
听
The shutting down of schools in the wake of the Ebola听outbreak led to an estimated 14,000 teen pregnancies in Sierra听Leone during the Ebola outbreak, Save the Children said.听
The global charity gave the example of Sahar, who did not听want to give her real name, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in听Lebanon. Married to a 20-year-old man, aged just 13, Sahar is听now two months pregnant.
国产视频淭he wedding day, I was imagining it would be a great day听but it wasn国产视频檛. It was all misery. It was full of sadness,国产视频 Save听the Children quoted Sahar as saying.
国产视频淚 feel really blessed that I am having a baby. But I am a听child raising a child.国产视频
The United Nations国产视频 children国产视频檚 agency UNICEF estimates the number of听women married in childhood will grow from 700 million today to听around 950 million by 2030.
Save the Children国产视频檚 report coincides with International Day听of the Girl today, which was set up by the United Nations听in 2011 to recognise the rights of the 1.1 billion girls around听the world and the challenges they face.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers humanitarian news, women国产视频檚 rights, corruption and climate change.
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