One Girl Under 15 Married Every Seven Seconds

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FAIRFIELD, CT (Oct. 10, 2016) — One girl under 15 is married every seven seconds, according to new analysis by Save the Children that reveals the scale of the threat posed by child marriage to education, health and children’s safety.

Girls as young as 10 are marrying – to much older men - in countries like Afghanistan, Yemen, India and Somalia.

A new report released today by Save the Children, Every Last Girl: Free to live, free to learn, free from harm,has ranked countries in an index from the best to worst country in which to be a girl, based on child marriage , schooling, teen pregnancy, maternal deaths and number of female representatives in national government.

Countries at the bottom of the index include Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia, many of which have high rates of child marriage. Countries at the top include Sweden, Finland, Norway, Netherlands and Belgium.

“Child marriage starts a cycle of disadvantage that denies girls the opportunity to learn, develop and be children.” said Carolyn Miles, President & CEO of Save the Children.

“Girls who marry too early often can’t attend school, and are more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and rape. They get pregnant and bear children before they’re physically and emotionally ready, which can have devastating consequences on their and their baby’s health.”

The international community has pledged to end child marriage by 2030, but if current trends continue, the total number of women married in childhood will grow from more than 700 million today to around 950 million by 2030, and to 1.2 billion by 2050.

Former child bride Halima*, 17, still dreams about the baby daughter she is no longer able to visit, after leaving her abusive husband. (*name changed to protect identity). Credit:Colin Crowley/Save the Children

The report also reveals:

• Girls affected by conflict are more likely to become child brides, with many refugee families marrying off their daughters as a safety or coping mechanism, such as Syrian girls in Lebanon;
• Girls from poor families are more likely to be married early than their richer peers. In Nigeria, 40 percent of the poorest girls are married by 15, compared to 3 percent of the richest girls;
• India has the highest number of child marriages of any country, partly owing to the large size of its population, with 47 percent of girls – around 24.6 million – married under 18;
• Girls suffer most during humanitarian crises such as the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, where schools shutting down led to an estimated 14,000 teen pregnancies;

In Lebanon, Save the Children supports a 14-year-old Syrian girl named Sahar*, who was married at 13 to a 20-year-old man, and is now two months pregnant.

“The wedding day, I was imagining it would be a great day, but it wasn’t. It was all misery. It was full of sadness. Many girls who get married at a young age get illnesses and suffer from bleeding. Thank God it didn’t happen to me.,” said Sahar*.

“I feel really blessed that I am having a baby. But I am a child raising a child.”

Save the Children runs a range of programs that support the most disadvantaged girls around the world. It is calling on governments and donors to invest in girls’ education and life chances, to help bring an end to child marriage and gender discrimination.

Save the Children is releasing the report ahead of International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11,a day dedicated to highlighting the barriers girls face globally and to empowering girls to reach their full potential.