War and poverty are causing a dramatic increase in the number of young girls being forced into marriage with older men in many African and Middle Eastern countries, a British children's organisation has warned.
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| According to estimates by the UK-based non-governmental organization Save the Children, which has a network in more than 120 countries, every day in 2017, more than 12,000 girls under 15 years old will become child brides, entering a life of sexual slavery, being beaten, pregnant and dying in childbirth. |
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| Khadra, 16, holds her two-month-old daughter at home in Somalia. War and poverty have led to an increase in the number of young girls marrying older men because their families cannot protect or feed them, according to Save the Children. |
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| Pictured is Aisha, who was forced to marry at the age of 13. Beaten by her husband, she fled and returned to live with her family in Somalia, taking her two-year-old daughter, Rayan, with her. |
![Nhiều bé gái bị các nhóm phiến quân Hồi giáo bắt cóc và ép lấy chồng, sau khi sát hại cả gia đình em. Các nhân viên xã hội người Anh đã làm việc tại nhiều quốc gia như Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yeman, thu thập số liệu về nạn bạo hành gia đình, cưỡng bức và hãm hiếp trẻ gái. Trong đó, một bé gái 6 tuổi đã bị bán làm vợ cho một người đàn ông hơn mình 40 tuổi để đổi lấy một con dê ở Afghanistan, hay một cô dâu nhí 8 tuổi ở Yemen chết vì chảy máu sau trong đêm tân hôn khi bị ông]() Pictured is Sahar, a Syrian. She was just 13 when she was forced to marry a 20-year-old man in Lebanon and have a baby the following year. Sahar says that although she is happy with her husband, the reality has changed her views on marriage, believing that women should wait until they are at least 20 before marrying. " data-reference-id="24436049" src="https://bna.1cdn.vn/2017/01/06/uploaded-dataimages-201701-original-_images1794161_bna_586fa4a23ce2a.jpg"> |
| Many girls are kidnapped by Islamic militant groups and forced into marriage, after killing their entire families. British social workers have worked in many countries such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, collecting data on domestic violence, rape and child sexual abuse. Among them is a 6-year-old girl who was sold as a wife to a man 40 years her senior in exchange for a goat in Afghanistan, or an 8-year-old child bride in Yemen who died from bleeding after being raped by her "husband" in his 50s on their wedding night. Pictured is Sahar, a Syrian. She was only 13 when she was forced to marry a 20-year-old man in Lebanon and give birth to a child the following year. Sahar said that although she lived happily with her husband, the reality helped her change her view of marriage, believing that women should wait until they are at least 20 years old to marry. |
![Afrah, mới 16 tuổi khi phải lấy chồng vì gia đình không đủ tiền nuôi em. Sau khi lấy chồng, em thường xuyên bị chồng đánh đập vì nghi ngờ không còn trinh trắng. Hắn còn cho em dùng thuốc phiện và đe dọa nếu dám tiết lộ, bố mẹ Afrah sẽ tự tay giết em.]() "They are discriminated against, physically and mentally abused, and abandoned by their families and communities. When child brides become pregnant, their bodies are not ready for childbirth. Therefore, childbirth is the second leading cause of death for adolescent girls." " data-reference-id="24436050" src="https://bna.1cdn.vn/2017/01/06/uploaded-dataimages-201701-original-_images1794157_bna_586fa4a25a71d.jpg"> |
| Afrah was only 16 when she got married because her family could not afford to support her. After getting married, her husband often beat her because he suspected she was not a virgin. He also gave her opium and threatened that if she dared to reveal anything, Afrah's parents would kill her themselves. "Every 7 seconds in the world, a girl gets married. In the time it takes you to eat a piece of bean sprout, a child, like your daughter, sister, relative or niece, is married. Most of them are married against their will to a stranger at least 10 years older," said Kirsty McNeill, Director of the organization's child protection program. "They are discriminated against, physically and mentally abused, and abandoned by their families and communities. Child brides become pregnant, their bodies are not ready for childbirth. Therefore, childbirth is the second leading cause of death for teenage girls." |
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| Tasnim, 16, is from Syria and lives with her husband in Lebanon. Her father arranged her marriage to a fellow Lebanese. Tasnim was taking an exam at school when she had to take a photo to send to her future husband. Then she went to Lebanon with her parents for the engagement ceremony. She got married late last year. Her parents returned to Syria after their daughter got married. Save the Children ranked 144 countries for the best living conditions for children and women based on criteria such as child marriage, school attendance, pregnancy, maternal mortality and the number of female parliamentarians. The countries at the bottom of the list were Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia. The top countries were Sweden, Finland, Norway and Belgium. |
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| Halima, 17, was forced into marriage when she was 15. She fled after being regularly beaten by her husband and dreams of going back to school. The international community has pledged to end child marriage by 2030, but if current trends continue, the number of girls in child marriage will rise from more than 700 million today to around 950 million by 2030 and 1.2 billion by 2050. International agencies acknowledge that a major challenge in ending child marriage is the centuries-old cultural tradition in many countries. For example, in Yemen, where 25% of girls are married before the age of 15, traditionally, young brides are believed to be more docile, obedient wives, have more children and avoid early temptation. The government used to set a minimum age for marriage at 15, but parliament abolished it in 1990, saying parents had the right to decide where their daughters would marry. McNeill said child marriage was deeply ingrained in society and that to change it, more influence would have to be exerted by communities such as religious leaders or women's groups. |
According to VNE
