Maya Dijakovic

BBC

Child Marriages are considered a violation of human rights, taking away children’s freedom, and being
forced to spend the rest of their lives with a complete stranger. Specifically, in developing countries, one
in four girls are married before the age of 18, and one in nine are married before the age of 15. Child
marriage also directly threatens a girl’s health and well-being. In most cases, marriage is often followed
by pregnancy, even if a girl is not yet physically or mentally ready. In developing countries, nine out of
10 births to adolescent girls occur within a marriage or a union. In these countries, complications from
pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of death among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19.
With having the number #1 international ranking of highest child marriage rate in the world, 76% of
Niger’s population gets married before the age of 18. There have been recent developments of
organisations that strive to help girls who are being forced to get married. Prime examples include Girls
not Brides, Plan International UK, and Plan international because I’m a Girl. These organizations’ goals
are to protect young girls who are being forced to get married and to raise awareness of the violations of
their human rights, and to make sure this doesn’t endanger the lives of young girls.