Dear friends, The government of Bangladesh recently voted to approve the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017, which allows girls under the age of 18 to be married in "special cases" or for "the greater good of the adolescent". Neither terms are defined by the law, essentially removing the age minimum for marriage altogether. The girl pictured above is just simply too young to be married. And to know that there is a legal loophole that could result in her being married too young is devastating. The chances of maternal mortality, birth complications and domestic violence increase in child marriages, and girls who are married before 18 are less likely to complete their schooling. And the child marriage rate in Bangladesh is already high — ranking number two in the world with 52% of people in Bangladesh married by 18. Even more shocking, 18% of child marriages are under age15. The government of Bangladesh should not be passing laws that make it easier for children to be married. Instead, the government should be doing everything to stop this horrible trend and promote education, health and wellbeing of all girls instead. Thank you, | | Alex B.
The Care2 Petitions Team |
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