The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) launched a Week of Action against Child Marriage on Capitol Hill yesterday. This week of action aims to encourage US lawmakers to pass 2 prevention of child marriage bills, according to Women's eNews. One of these bills, HR3175 (see PDF), would establish a fund that would grant money to USAID missions focused on preventing forced child marriage.
The Population Council estimates that one-third of girls living in the developing world, excluding China, are married before the age of 18, and one in seven girls in the developing world marry before they turn 15. The Population Council says that if present conditions of child marriage continue unchecked, over 100 million girls will be married within the next ten years.
The centerpiece of the Week of Action against Child Marriage is this year’s UNICEF Photo of the Year photo by Stephanie Sinclair, an American freelance photographer. The photo depicts a forty-year-old man marrying an eleven-year-old girl in Afghanistan. The girl’s parents explained to Sinclair that, "We needed the money."
Eva Luise Kohler, UNICEF patron, said of Sinclair’s photo at the awards ceremony, "The UNICEF Photo of the Year 2007 raises awareness about a worldwide problem. Millions of girls are married while they are still underage. Most of these child brides are forever denied a self-determined life."
Media Resources: Women’s eNews 02/26/08; UNICEF; Population Council; UN Commission on the Status of Women; Forced Marriage Report of the Girl Child 2008; International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2007 (HR 3175)
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
