Child marriage; what is it? Its possible consequences. The reasons for the first alliances. Ways to fight against child marriage.
Child marriage is the legalization of relationships between people where one or both partners have not reached the age of 18. The statistics say that the top ten countries where you will not be surprised by the early contact are Niger, CAR, Chad, Mozambique, Bangladesh, South Sudan, Mali, India, Afghanistan, and Somalia. It is especially worth pointing out Roman societies where children are married very young.
What is the main cause of child marriage?
Before going over the core of the problem, it is necessary to understand why parents decide to take such a step. Such physiologists may maintain the belief that “the girl is mature”. The maximum that can attract an unformed personality in early marriage is the desire to quickly enter the world of adults.
Cause for child marriage:
- Looks make extra money … Residents of countries with low living standards often cannot provide their daughter with a worthy pregnancy on time. So that their blood does not stay too long in the girls, it is quickly handed over to the groom, assuming that their parental obligation is fulfilled. If the young man is satisfied with the marriage certificate, then the wedding is immediately arranged.
- Trading in live products … As scary as it may sound; some parents are broken from poverty and disaster, not only physically but also morally. For them, a beautiful daughter who has not reached puberty is already becoming an excuse to close a financial deal and want to fix it with a profit. In some countries, the groom pays a substantial ransom for such children, which then helps the family survive.
- Fear of family shame … Every year the daughter grows, parents tighten control over the blossoming bride-to-be. She is especially watched in Muslim countries so that she does not run away with her lover and bring indelible shame to the whole family. Her sisters are unlikely to marry later, as they are said to be close relatives of the harlot.
- Protection against the arbitrariness of the invaders … is not a 100% guarantee of safety, but some parents resort to it from the hopelessness of the situation. These are early marriages in “hot spots” where young girls are at risk of being raped by the winners. Such incidents were not uncommon during the Muslim conquest of India.
- The desire to have time to prolong the race … The conversation will again turn to war when the male population of a country is destroyed in large numbers. For this reason, parents are rushing to marry children who sometimes still have milk on their lips,
- Political alliance … If we take historical child marriages between representatives of royal families as an example, we can talk about their number. Louis XIV was barely 15 years old when he married a girl of political interest, who was 3 years younger than him.
Interesting! In Nepal, where the highest rate of child marriage is recorded, it is considered indecent to continue supporting a daughter who is 18 years old. In order not to blush in front of the neighbors, who thought that the girl who had been sitting on a bride was defective, they tried to fasten her early.
