Friday, January 24, 2014

Child marriage sets girls up for a lifetime of abuse...

Khadijetou was born in Mauritania in 2002 and was force-fed from the age of 7. In 2010, she was married to a man, 10 years older than her father.

At the time of her wedding, she was extremely overweight. Khadijetou fell pregnant in 2011 and gave birth by cesarean section in order to save the life of her child. Her health consistently deteriorated and twenty days later, she died aged 11 years old.

Since there is no law in Mauritania forbidding child marriage or force-feeding, no action is being taken against anyone who may have been involved. L'Association des Femmes Chefs de Famille (AFCF) is calling for both laws to be enacted and implemented urgently.

Meanwhile, Lulu was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) in Tanzania at the age of 4. At 14, having completed her primary education, she was forced into a polygamous marriage. Local organisation Network Against Female Genital Mutilation (NAFGEM), met with her parents, who agreed return her dowry of 8 cows and allow her to continue her education.

Tanzania's law allows girls to be married at the age of 14 with a parent's or guardian's consent. There is no legal protection for girls like Lulu, who must rely on their own courage and the support of thinly-stretched non-governmental organisations when they face FGM, which is outlawed but largely unenforced, and child marriage. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. The fattening farms of Mauritania – force-feeding young girls...
  2. Yemeni child Nada who fled forced marriage and Egyptian cleric...
  3. 11-year-old Yemeni girl on forced marriages: I'd rather kill myself...
  4. Yemen's child brides, the Nujood Ali story...
  5. She's only 10, but she's already been married, raped, beaten and divorced!!
  6. 4-year-old girl married in India and divorced at 8! WTF!
  7. Saudi men buying Syrian refugee children as brides and prostitutes...
  8. Syria's refugee brides: “The Saudis usually ask for 12-year-olds.”

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