UNICEF’s Post

In times of crisis, girls face invisible battles beyond survival, the loss of autonomy, safety, and identity. Protecting their right to choose isn’t just a goal, it’s a collective responsibility.

The entire world in general and UNICEF in particular failed to protect children in many parts of the world especially in Gaza..... There is an urgent need for the civilized world to sit in and sort out how to prevent it in future.

This reveals a critical and ongoing challenge for gender equality and child protection in most of developing countries . This statistic highlights how child marriage remains a significant social and developmental issue, despite progress in education and awareness efforts. Forexample in my country, the persistence of child marriage is linked to poverty, limited access to education for girls, cultural traditions and gender inequality. In many rural areas, families see early marriage as a way to secure their daughters’ future or reduce economic burdens. However, early marriage often leads to negative outcomes, such as school dropout, early pregnancy, health risks and restricted economic opportunities for women. So, ending child marriage requires a united effort that combines education, law enforcement, community engagement and economic empowerment to ensure every girl can reach her full potential.

It is so painful, especially for girls in villages where education is not a priority and worse still, some parents have the notion that sending girls to school is a waste of money. And since many lack exposure to the goodness of education, it is still a sting among generations.

Very important, indeed.

 Early marriage has long been widespread in some societies, as has the practice of forcing girls into marriage against their will. Therefore, awareness-raising efforts must be made in these communities to highlight the dangers of early marriage and childbirth before the age of 18. This is everyone's responsibility, especially organizations working in this field.

Luring poor parents with money and marrying their young daughters is still going on in the 3rd world countries. It rather does not stops with just marriages to over aged men too but its more like a sort of trading these young women across borders which should be stopped. Every girl child has the right to choose her life and live it to the fullest. No one should be deprived of their rights to live.

This is because they are more precious and need to be protected

The girl child continues to be one of the major vulnerable groups especially in 3rd world countries. Girls are the future, mothers and sisters who can shape a nation's growth in various ways if they are nurtured and empowered. I am one who thinks we are all tackling this issue in a wrong way and that's why the numbers in early girl child marriages keep increasing. The idea is to reach out the perpetrators before they perpetrate. It's all about changing the mindset of boys and girls at their early stages in life and teach them about the virtues of personal identity, personal growth, and personal development. If all genders are taught to respect themselves they eventually grow up respecting others too. Men will know the value of living little girls to grow, and mothers will nurture their girls to become self empowered, independent ladies as they grow.

One would think the advancement in science, technology and education would eradicate child marriage, but here we are, still fighting the same issues from the past century. Girls have a right to education, girls have a right to choose!