Elimination of Child Marriage
C'wealth move lauded
Child rights campaigners welcomed commitment by the 54-nation Commonwealth leaders to focus efforts on ending child and forced marriage of millions of girls.
During their meeting in Perth, Australia in late October, they also committed to improve gender equality and empowerment of women in the Commonwealth, says a press release from Plan, a child rights organisation.
Ian Wishart, chief executive of Plan International Australia, said, “The decision sends a strong signal to government authorities and communities across the Commonwealth…
“…that early marriage of girls, often against their will and best interests, is no longer a practice to be tolerated.”
One in seven girls in the world's poorest nations is married off before they turn 15. Consequently, they have to leave school, depriving them of the opportunity to a better life, he said.
“The Commonwealth must now deliver on its commitment,” said Wishart.
Plan International and Royal Commonwealth Society are campaigning on the issue as a key human rights violation that could be dramatically reduced if the Commonwealth member states are willing to take concrete action.
Rubi Begum, a 16-year old girl from Dinajpur, went to Australia with Plan International Australia's support to speak on the challenges faced by Bangladeshi girls.
At a programme in Australia, she said the practice of forcefully marrying off girls below 18 years without their consent is widespread in Bangladesh, says the press release.
They have to give up education, become pregnant early and face the rising risk of maternal and child mortality. It is devastating for the girls and affects their lives adversely, she said.
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