A girl’s right to say no to marriage

“I thought he was my dad,” says Ramatou of her marriage, age 10, to a man she had never met. Ramatou is now preparing her 13-year-old daughter Mariama to be wed.

Plan’s new report, A girl’s right to say no to marriage, examines the global problem of child marriage and its devastating impact on the lives of children, particularly girls.

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The heavy toll of early motherhood

Rani was married at age 11 - her ID card was doctored to say she was 18. She and her husband started trying for a baby but it took seven years for her to fall pregnant. She suffered complications during labour and needed several blood transfusions. Four months later, she has still not fully recovered.

“I felt very stressed. I have been trying for a baby for seven years. So this time when I was expecting, I felt worried for the baby. I had so many expectations to meet but I am only 18,” says Rani.

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Because I am a Girl Campaign to Protect Girls’ Rights

Poverty, lack of education, child labor, early marriage, HIV/AIDs-- these are intricately interrelated spheres. Poverty is a leading cause of school dropout for girls, which often leads directly to child labor. The lack of education leaves a girl unaware of how to protect herself from HIV and vulnerable to child marriage. Furthermore, a girl who is forced into early marriage with an older, more sexually experienced male faces an increased likelihood of contracting HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls between the ages of 15-19 are 2-6 times more likely to contract HIV than boys. Complex problems require a complex approach, and these issues must all be addressed in order to truly effect a change for the world’s girls.

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