Effect of Early Marriage

THE EFFECT OF EARLY MARRIAGE TOWARDS GIRLS
Marriage is found in all cultures. However, the word ‘Early Marriage’ brings a whole different meaning to us. Early marriage is marriage at young age. According to GirlsNotBrides (2011), each year, about 10 million girls around the globe become child brides. Whether this phenomenon happens with the consent of the girl herself or not is another different story. For sure, their lives will never be the same again. These cases usually happens in developing countries such as in India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Africa and Nepal. Sadly, early marriage brings nothing but bad effects to young girls. It causes low education level among girls higher risk in mortality and morbidity for the morthers and infants, as well as poverty. Myers (2011) explained that early marriage affects girls’ education. Once a girl is married but is still of school age, she is assumed to have crossed the verge into adulthood and no longer needs an education is sadly common. Married girls are excluded from continue schooling or to attain education as a personal development to adulthood causing them to be illiterate and unable to improve their lifestyle. School may be reluctant to engage in issue seen as private and family matter, which is one of the many reasons married girls are unable to improve their lives as their level of education is lower than that of man. They are portrayed as domestic providers who are not qualified to make any huge or important decisions in their own family. A study by GirlsNotBrides (2011) found that child brides are almost always forced to leave school when, or before, they get married. They are then forced to work in their in-laws homes besides being forced to bear children while tehy tehmselves are stilol children. These reasons caused them to have no opportunity to get a proper education.
Early marriage also can cause higher risk in mortality for the mothers and infants during pregnancy. Young mothers are possibly to face pregnancy-related deaths and birth complications during labour, which are the leading cause of mortality for girls aged between 15 and 19. According to UNFPA and the University of Aberdeen (2004), girls under the age of 18 face the risk of death due to childbirth as much as five times compared to women in their twenties. They may also suffer injury and long-term illness as their body systems are too young to conceive. Girls who get married young are most likely to be forced into having sexual relation with their husband, which are usually older than themselves. These young brides are not psychologically, physically and sexually mature. Forced intercourse may cause them to be traumatized. Some may even become depressed as they are horrified by the forced intercourse. Nevertheless, in developing countries, most of early married girls are usually under intense pressure to prove their fertility, thus leading them to be pregnant right after the marriage. Besides, baby who is born from young mother also encounter dangerous side effects. Babies born by mothers under the age of 18 tend to be premature. This will result in babies being underweight, having lower morbidity and mortality. Due to mother poor eating habit and lifestyle, these infants will have inadequate nutrients which are essential for them to survive. About 1 in 4 babies having birth weight below 1.5kg has peripheral or central hearing impairment. Mothers must be in perfect shape and healthy enough to have wonderful kids in their family.
Other than that, early marriage is caused by poverty and also can lead to poverty. Poverty leads to a higher prevalence of child marriage because poor families feel they have fewer resources and incentives to invest in their daughter life. A poor family has a view that marriage is the only way to escape from poor life. They decide to arrange their daughters’ marriage as a solution. According to Mohan (2011), 40% of the world’s child marriage is due to illiteracy, poverty and lack of awareness. Once their daughters are married, consequently it reduces their economic vulnerability as their daughters can now depend to their in-laws. This will give the opportunity to parents to give more attention to their younger children. Besides reducing poverty, marriage can protect their daughter from danger in poverty life. Girls who are married often drop out from school and remain unemployed. Without normal education, it affects their life in searching job in order to support family fund. In addition, pregnancy causes a girl to be unable to attend formal education which is mostly needed to attain a better job in order to support family financing. Sometimes, they have to pawn precious things, which is should be their investment in economic crisis, to fulfil their children needs. All in all, poverty is one of the reasons on increasing in early marriage especially in poor states.

Despite the globalization, early marriage seems to have empowering the social lives of girls in poor countries. The society should change their mindset of thinking that early marriage will drive their lives out of poverty. They should know that girls are capable of changing life course instead of bidding them up for early marriage. It is a reality that early marriage is a horrific culture that should be stopped as it causes lack in education among brides, low level of healthiness both physically and mentally among the mothers and infants and poverty.

REFERENCES
GirlsNotBride. (2011). Child Marriage. Retrived September 23, 2012, from http://girlsnotbride.org/

International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). (2007). How to End Child Marriage: Action Strategies for Prevention and Protection. Retrieve August 22, 2012, from http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/New-Insights-on-Preventing Child-Marriage.pdf

Mass marriages reason for increase in cx. (2009). Retrieved August 22, 2012, from http://www.deccanherald.com/content/260633/mass-marriages-reason-increase- cx.html

Myers, J., & Harvey, R. (2011). Breaking Vows: Early and Forced Marriage and Girls’ Education 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from

http://www.plan- uk.org/resources/documents/Breaking-Vows-Early and-Forced-Marriage-and-Girls-Education/

References: GirlsNotBride. (2011). Child Marriage. Retrived September 23, 2012, from http://girlsnotbride.org/ International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). (2007). How to End Child Marriage: Action Strategies for Prevention and Protection Education 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from http://www.plan-