"Child. To marry" – now a famous photo in Yemen as early marriage receives more attention
"Child. To marry" – now a famous photo in Yemen as early marriage receives more attention
Over 64 million women now aged 20–24 years were married before the age of 18.
Child marriage is a violation of a girl's rights, and has a devastating impact. Marriage puts an end to a girl's childhood, her education, her freedom and often her contact with friends and family.
She becomes very vulnerable to abuse and neglect from her husband and his family as hers becomes a life of domestic drudgery. Girls in some cultures are forced to marry much older men or men with other wives. They may soon become pregnant – facing a much greater risk of death and damage in childbirth.
In some countries girls are married as children: in parts of Africa and Asia over a quarter of girls are married before the age of 15.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 40% of women are married before the age of 18
Nearly one in three girls are married before the age of 15
In Southern Asia, alomst half of young women are married before the age of 18