Myrna 2fer Revision

Girls in some countries do not have the right to decide whether they want to marry.They are forced into arranged marriages with men much older than them. It has become so normalized that no one says anything about it. Today, this is a practice in some African, Arab and Asian countries, but in fact, this kind of “marrying off” of girls has happened all around the world, depending on how much the culture values their girls. For many young girls their culture makes it impossible to exist on their own,  then girls are not as much as boys, which is why they are married off by their families at a young age to relieve the burden.

A majority of these girls that are being married off are in poor countries. In South Sudan people live in agricultural places, where this is a lot of poverty. The worth of these girls are measured through their dowries. Dowries are a way to improve the financial status of a man,they provide enough money and objects that would boost the economic status of a person.“In Jonglei, cattle are the only path to marriage. A typical dowry is 30 cattle.”(Burnett)  A typical dowry in South Sudan  are cows, they are very valued because they can provide a source of food and income. This tradition is also one that tries to protect girls from premarital sex and pregnancies which reduce the value of the girl. One statistics shows, 48% of girls under the age of eighteen are forced to marry often much older men. (Maze) This goes to show that a majority of girls are only valuable for their dowries, and marriage is what it takes to keep their “worth”. Not only does a “pure” girl have a lot of value, it also keeps the honor of the family and status. Boys are not forced into marrying at young ages, this is because they are the ones who play a huge role in keeping this tradition alive. Boys have the power of freedom, which tends to result in abusiveness towards their young wives.

Domestic violence is a huge factor in these child marriages. The girls are so young that they often die from giving birth or from being abused by their husbands. Many girls go through this form of abuse because there is no one to help them or no one cares. It is the norm for the husband to be able to such things. A Yemeni woman, named Noora explained the abuse she went through as a child bride. "I was rushed to hospital – I was a child being treated as a sex object, but the abuse did not stop. Nobody was interested in my complaints, as I was legally a wife." (Noora) In Yemen, it is common for girls to be married under the age of 15. Girls like Noora are forced into having sexual relations with their husbands, which causes them to have physical injuries. Young girls pre-pubescent bodies are not strong enough to give birth or to be sexually abused. However, no one tries to do anything about this, because it has become so common. The families of these girls do nothing, because now the husband is the one who has power over the girl.They can’t get out of this situation because it the norm and common practice for a husband to be dominating in the marriage and it is not questioned.

After these girls are turned over to their husbands families, they have no freedom to do what they want. In Nepal, girls who are married off at young ages do not get to continue their education. Classroom attendance gets lower for girls, as the school level grade is higher.These girls are not worth anything to their parents after they leave their parents, "As soon as she becomes someone else’s "property", the parents show little willingness to invest in their education as they grow.” (Sherpa) This goes to show that after they are married, educating girls is not as important as it is to educate a boy. The parents of these girls are basically giving away their daughters to another family to do as they please with her. She is not significant to their lives anymore. Money also becomes the issue because parents are not willing to pay school fees for their daughters education. They are not worth enough to be spending money for. The enrollment of boys in school are much higher than the girls. Parents are more willing to do things for their sons than daughters. This is because educating a girl is pointless if the girl is going to be married off to someone. They do not see any benefit in educating their girls because they won’t be able to do anything with the education. Therefore, since boys are the breadwinners of the family they must have an education to obtain a job or pursue a career.

Girls are not valued as much as boys, because their culture does not allow for them to be independent and they are used to be benefitted from. Although the government might not think that child marriages matters much its influence goes beyond the household and to the rest of the country. If this continues to go unnoticed then it will create a statistical barrier in education and jobs in the country for girls. If these girls are held back then the country will never face any economic growth.

Works Cited:

"As Young as Twelve: South Sudan's Child Marriage Epidemic | Enough Project." As Young as Twelve: South Sudan's Child Marriage Epidemic. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014. <http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/young-twelve-south-sudans-child-marriage-epidemic>.

"NEPAL: The Hidden Costs of Early Marriage." IRINnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014. <http://www.irinnews.org/report/95654/nepal-the-hidden-costs-of-early-marriage>.

N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Flifeandstyle%2F2013%2Foct%2F01%2Fstory-yemen-child-bride>.

"In South Sudan, Cows Are Cash And Source Of Friction." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2012/08/16/158776225/in-south-sudan-cows-are-cash-and-source-of-friction>.