Child marriage: legalized rape?

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Child marriage is a hot topic in the Arab world at the moment – as the amount of discussion on social media shows.“Child marriage is a form of rape that is not recognised by the legislature. The criminal remains at large while the voice of the victim isn't heard.”.

It’s commonly believed that forced and child marriage are most common in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Egypt, but there was surprising news recently: Iraq is one of the worst offenders amongst Arab countries. last week. The Iraqi minister of planning and cooperative development, Ali Shukri, said in an interview that “even in Iraq, 11% of women marry before they turn 18. The pregnancy of minors causes important health problems in the country.” For the minister, the solution would be “a UN resolution, in order to control the worldwide rise of the population and to set a minimum age for marriage”. “What does this mean [though]?” a journalist asked him on Facebook. “Should child marriage be subject to Chapter VII for example?”

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The situation is similar across the Arab world. But, in Sudan for example, the number of child marriages keeps on rising because family law doesn't protect women, and some fatwas [legal advice based on Islamic law] support the marriage of girls who have not even reached their teens.

TV series
An Egyptian TV series called Burying Girls Alive, shown on one of the satellite channels during Ramadan, has brought the discussion about child marriage into the open. It illustrates the problem by showing an old man simply buying his teenage bride and taking advantage of poverty and ignorance.

Child marriage takes place either in the name of religion or because of financial problems and is a problem that afflicts a large segment of the population in Arab societies. Young girls are the victims, but they often only realise the true harshness of their lives when they wake up as young, divorced mothers before they turn twenty.

Mixed reactions
An old man marrying a girl who could be his granddaughter and hoping to marry even more young girls. Images of the dead corpse of a bride in a bloodstained wedding dress, not even 9 years old and brutally violated. Such scenes have evoked strong reactions, with some viewers questioning how the makers could justify using such young actresses for these roles.

The series has caused massive controversy and discussion on Twitter and Facebook from its first episode. Some condemn it with reactions such as: “I want to know what kind of sick person is able to watch this series!!” and “This series is not appropriate for children. My daughter saw the first episode and she's asking questions I can't answer.”

Others, however, recognise the importance of the series’ subject: “My entire body trembles after seeing this, even if this nightmare is only a reality for some of us” or “The series tells a story that can't be ignored. Between and because of money and desire, young girls lose their futures.”

ntent, violence is used against the members of society least able to protect themselves children in school, The global scandal of violence against children is a horror story too often untold.With malice and clear in orphanages, on the street, in refugee camps and war zones, in detention, and in fields and factories.In its investigations of human rights abuses against children, Human Rights Watch has found that in every region of the world, in almost every aspect of their lives, children are subject to unconscionable violence, most often perpetrated by the very individuals charged with their safety and well-being. Children are exposed to other human rights abuses as well. Millions have no access to education, work long hours under hazardous conditions, are forced to become soldiers, or languish in orphanages or detention centers where they endure inhumane conditions and daily assaults on their dignity.

These abuses persist because children have few mechanisms for reporting violence and other human rights violations. They may be reluctant to speak out for fear of reprisals. And because they are children, their complaints are often not taken seriously. Even when children do make reports or abuse is exposed, perpetrators are rarely investigated or prosecuted.Those in a position to take action may be complicit in the abuse, reluctant to discipline or prosecute a colleague, or fearful of negative publicity. Adults who witness abuse by their own colleagues and attempt to report it may be fired for speaking up. The year 2005 marks the fifteenth year of the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the landmark treaty that guarantees children the right to be free from discrimination, to be protected in armed conflicts, to be protected from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, to be free from arbitrary deprivation of liberty, to receive age-appropriate treatment in the justice system, and to be free from economic exploitation and other abuses, among other rights. chieving these rights remains a challenge. Governments must take stronger action to implement the convention's provisions and fulfill their promises to the children of the world.
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World Day Against Child Labour 12 June 2007

The International Labour Organization (ILO) today marked the launch of the new global partnership on tackling child labour in agriculture as the sector accounts for the largest share of child workers. Among the five key international agricultural organizations member of the new partnership, the ILO, the global union federation IUF, the FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP).

Over 132 million children aged 5-14 years old work in agriculture - up to 70 per cent of all working children. In some cases, children themselves migrate to find work or migrate with their parents or sometimes are trapped in forced labour. Like in BWI sectors, these children are victims of exploitation and there is a need to continue the fight against unscrupulous employers using child labour to cut production costs, even at the risk of endangering the lives of children who are exposed to dangerous work, are the worst paid of all workers and work long hours.

In this connection, BWI child labour campaign "Children should learn not earn" is based on a threefold approach - schooling, campaign and organizing. Setting up schools for child workers in India has pulled out thousands of children from work. Even if the direct beneficiaries are the children, the indirect beneficiaries have been thousands of workers who have benefited in terms of wages and other benefits, thereby taking care of the economic reason that pushes children into workforce. BWI affiliates must continue to call on their Ministry of Labour to facilitate ratification of ILO Convention(s) including 138 on Minimum Age and 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

If you wish to read more on BWI schools in India , see here.

June 12 has been designated the World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) since 2003.