CHILD MARRIAGE & FEMALE GENITAL MUTATION

We already reached in 21th century still some areas & some countries are there where female are treated as animal , they have no choice , they can’t speak their own words , they can’t go outside , they can’t do job , even they punish like sexual & mental harassment. as we all educate , now our job is to save them from this , they have also got a life like us then why they will suffer. 

Rise your voice for them who can’t speak  for themselves.

How can child marriage be safe when married girls too are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases? In child marriage most of the child bride face a high risk of injury and death during pregnancy and childbirth? Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s.

Even child marriage leads to prostitution, many placed are there where men marriage like contract marriage for one year or six month. It’s true, even happens , many polices cases also there. It is a kind of legal prostitution . In India, prostitution takes many forms, from street-based to home-based sex work. Many women who turn to prostitution are in monogamous marriages, but poverty has pushed them to seek an additional income through sex work.

Now question is what leads to child marriage-

Poverty: 

Poverty is the main issue , no parents wants to sell their daughter but sometimes their situation force then to do this crime.

Poor families sell their children into marriage to make some money and escape the cycle of poverty. Girl child who marry young will not be properly educated or take part in the workforce.

In many countries, educating girls often is less of a priority than educating boys. Where as a woman play a most important role is considered to be that of a wife, mother and homemaker . And even when poor families want to send their daughters to school, they often lack ability to pay school fees. It is usually safer and economically more rewarding to spend limited resources on educating sons than daughters.

"Protecting" the girls from rape or any sexual harassment : 

In certain cultures, marrying a girl young presumes that the girl's sexuality, therefore the girl's family's honor, will be "protected" but ensuring that the girl marries as a virgin. The imposition of family honor on a girl's individuality, in essence robbing the girl of her honor and dignity, undermines the credibility of family honor and instead underscores the presumed protection's actual aim: to control the girl.

Gender discrimination: 

Child marriage is a product of cultures that devalue women and girls and discriminate against them. Which leads to domestic violence, marital rape, and deprivation of food, lack of access to information, education, healthcare, and general impediments to mobility."

Tradition and Religion:

In many societies, parents are under pressure to marry off their daughters as early as possible in an effort to prevent her from becoming sexually harrash before marriage; many places are there where a woman can’t speak her words even she can’t dishonor to her family and community as marriage often determines a woman’s status in many societies, parents also worry that if they don’t marry their daughters according to social expectations, they will not be able to marry them at all.  example, in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, Afghanistan and in some parts of the Middle East, marrying young girls is a common practice. 

Why we should stop it: 

1. Pregnancy and childbirth are dangerous for adolescent girls; most adolescent pregnancies take place within marriage.

Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in girls aged 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries. 90% of adolescent pregnancies in the developing world are to girls who are already married.

2. Child marriage encourages the initiation of sexual activity at an age when girls’ bodies are still developing.

Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. Child brides are also vulnerable to obstetric fistula, a preventable yet debilitating injury resulting from obstructed labour or prolonged childbirth. 65% of all cases of obstetric fistula occur in girls under the age of 18.

3. Child brides are under intense social pressure to prove their fertility.

Child brides often face pressure from their husband’s family, their own family and the wider community to have children soon after marriage. They become mothers at an early age, which makes them more likely to experience early and frequent pregnancies.

4. Child brides have little power to plan whether, when or how many children to have.

It is very difficult to for child brides to assert their wishes with their often older husbands. It is hard for them to exercise their right to family planning and to choose when and whether to have children.

5. Reducing child marriage could accelerate our efforts to reduce maternal mortality.

There are strong correlations between maternal mortality rates and child marriage prevalent

INDIA issue:

Greater exposure to domestic and sexual violence .Girls who are married early are more likely to be abused sexually, physically and emotionally. An ICRW study in India shows that girls who married before age 18 reported experiencing physical violence twice. as often, and sexual violence three times as often as girls who married at a later age.15

In developing countries, poverty is the major factor for child marriages and the decision is usually in the hands of male members of the family. Because of the money the family usually receives for the young bride, the child marriage is seen as a means to escape poverty. In truth, the marriage is not beneficial to the girls themselves and puts them into an extremely vulnerable position. The girls are usually married to older men, often to much older. Isolated from the family and denied formal education, they are often forced into bonded labor or prostitution. Physical and sexual abuse is common; even in pregnancy. Girls who want to run away run risk of honor killings.

On the other hand, child marriage is also seen as a means to preserve wealth in the wealthiest families and in some cultures as a way to safeguard family honor.

Early marriage is detrimental to the health of young girls. They are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. A study conducted in Kenya and Zambia revealed that married girls had higher rates of HIV than unmarried.

Premature pregnancy may lead to serious complications or death. Girls younger than 15 years old are 5 times more likely to die during pregnancy or at childbirth than women in their twenties. The health of their children is also affected. Premature birth, low birth rate, and poor physical and mental growth are observed.

More than anything else, early marriage deprives girls of their childhood. They are thrust into the full burden of domestic responsibility, motherhood and sexual relations rather than playing with friends, dreaming about a career or fretting about a school exam.

Individual Rights Denied by Child Marriage:

The Convention on the Rights of the Child are designed to guarantee certain individual rights--which are abused by early marriage. Rights undermined or lost by children forced to marry early are:

·         The right to an education.

·         The right to be protected from physical and mental violence, injury or abuse, including sexual abuse, rape and sexual exploitation.

·         The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health.

·         The right to rest and leisure, and to participate freely in cultural life.

·         The right to not be separated from parents against the child's will.

·         The right to protection against all forms of exploitation affecting any aspect of the child’s welfare.

F.G.M

Female genital mutilation, also known as FGM refers to all procedures which partially or completely remove the external female genitalia. FGM also includes any other injury to a woman's or girl's genitalia for reasons other than medical ones. In most parts of the world, FGM is done by non-medical practitioners who also attend childbirths and carry out male circumcisions. According to WHO (World Health Organization), over 18% of all female genital mutilation procedures are carried out by health care professionals in clinical setting, a trend which appears to be growing.

Virtually every country in the world agrees that female genital mutilation is a violation of a female's human rights. It is seen as an extreme form of discriminating against females in the community. As most procedures are carried out on young girls, it is also a violation against children's rights.

Female genital mutilation offers the female no health benefits, Not only does FGM offer no health benefits for the female, it is associated with serious risks of harm. Healthy and normal (natural) female genital tissue is removed. In fact, these procedures undermine a girl's and woman's natural functions.

The following complications may occur during or soon after FGM procedures:

§  Excruciating pain, which can sometimes result in loss of consciousness

§  Bleeding (hemorrhage)

§  Bacterial infection (sepsis)

§  Open sores in the genital area

§  Urine retention and other problems urinating

§  Nearby genital tissue is damaged

The following long-term complications are also common:

§  Bladder infections which keep coming back

§  Cysts

§  Infertility

§  A considerably higher risk of newborn deaths

§  A significantly higher rate of childbirth complications

§  Further surgeries - if the opening has been narrowed, later on it will need to be "opened-up" again so that the female can have sex and give birth. In some cultures, this opening and narrowing is done several times throughout a female's life.

It’s common!

According to WHO, over 140 million females have undergone some form of female genital mutilation and currently live with its consequences. In Africa alone, it is believed that approximately 92 million girls aged 10+ years have undergone FGM procedures.

In the majority of cases, FGMs are done on girls aged between infancy and 15 years - FGMs are also done on adult women.

Approximately 3 million girls in Africa are deemed "at risk" for FGM each year.

FGM is most commonly performed in the north-eastern, western and eastern regions of Africa, as well as some parts of the Middle East and Asia - usually among African migrants who have moved there.

Why does female genital mutilation occur?

FGM is due to several factors, and often a combination of them, including those of a religious, social and cultural nature.

§  Social convention - "it is what others do, and what we have always done.." Social pressure and a desire not to stand out as a rebel is a powerful force, especially in societies with low literacy rates.

§  Proper thing to do - in some societies, FGM is part of proper female upbringing. It is said to prepare her for marriage and adult life.

§  Decent sexual behavior - in some cultures, FGM is linked to virginity and being faithful during marriage. If a woman's libido is reduced (by cutting the clitoris), it is believed that her chances of taking part in "illicit" sex is much smaller. Narrowing the vaginal opening is thought to keep females from taking any sexual risks, for fear of pain or widening the opening, being found out and getting into trouble for it.

§  Femininity and modesty - some societies believe that FGM makes girls cleaner and more beautiful. Some body parts, such as the clitoris (which sticks out) are seen as male or unclean.

§  Religions - even though not written in any of the major religions, practitioners are either convinced, or have convinced their communities that the practice is a religious one and should be carried out for that reason. It must be pointed out that many religious leaders are against FGM, and are involved in the movement to eradicate its practice.

§  Power and authority - in some cases, local chiefs, religious leaders, practitioners of FGM and circumcision, and even some health care professionals all agree that it is a practice that must prevail.

§  A new practice - in some cases, some communities have adopted the practice of FGM because they picked it up from neighboring communities. In some cases, it is the revival of an old custom.

§  Immigrants - sometimes, people who come from communities that don't practice FGM, and come to live in societies that do, adopt the practice to fit in.

Amnesty International informs that in some cultures, it is believed that a man would die if his penis touched a woman's clitoris. Some say that if a baby's head comes into contact with the clitoris, he/she could die. In some communities, women who have not undergone FGM are not allowed to handle food and water because of the perceived health risks for others.

Percentage of females aged 14 to 49 years living with FGM, according to year quoted 

(Source: UNICEF)

Benin - 2006 - 12.9%
Burkina Faso - 2006 - 72.5%
Cameroon - 2004 - 1.4%
Central African Republic - 2008 - 25.7%
Chad - 2004 - 44.9%
Côte d'Ivoire - 2006 - 36.4%
Djibouti - 2006 - 93.1%
Egypt - 2008 - 91.1%
Eritrea - 2002 - 88.7%
Ethiopia - 2005 - 74.3%
Gambia - 2005/6 - 78.3%
Ghana - 2006 - 3.8%
Guinea - 2005 - 95.6%
Guinea-Bissau - 2006 - 44.5%
Kenya - 2008/9 - 27.1%
Liberia - 2007 - 58.2%
Mali - 2006 - 85.2%
Mauritania - 2007 - 72.2%
Niger - 2006 - 2.2%
Nigeria - 2008 - 29.6%
Senegal - 2005 - 28.2%
Sierra Leone - 2006 - 94%
Somalia - 2006 - 97.9%
Sudan, northern (about 80% of all surveyed) - 2000 - 90%
Togo - 2006 - 5.8%
Uganda - 2006 - 0.8%
Tanzania - 2004 - 14.6%
Yemen - 2003 - 38.2%

Legal notice to deny FGM:

Resolution WHA61.16 was passed by the World Health Assembly in 2008; the aim being to eliminate FGM. Participants stressed the need for comprehensive action by all those involved in justice, women's affairs, education, finance and health.

~Sweta leena panda

Ps :- source different useful sites & some case studies .