Forced Marriage
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Table of Contents • AFGHANISTAN: Child marriage declines but remains high - Report • AFRICA: African Development Bank President attends historic African Union summit, decries child marriage • BANGLADESH: Bangladesh’s child marriage problem is the world’s human trafficking crisis • BANGLADESH/MALAYSIA: Rohingya women, girls being trafficked to Malaysia for marriage • BANGLADESH: Law proposing child marriage in "special cases" is a step backwards – charities • BRUNEI: UNICEF again urges Brunei to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 • CANADA: B.C. prosecutor urges ‘strong message’ in sentencing for child bride case • CHINA/INDIA: Asia’s expanding illicit market: brides • EU: Human Rights Without Frontiers debate on child marriage • EU: European Parliament Committee urges end to child marriage • GAMBIA: With newfound democracy, Gambia faces resurgence in FGM and child marriage • GEORGIA: Child brides • GUATEMALA: Child marriage persists despite ban, experts say • INDIA/PAKISTAN: In South Asia, coronavirus and poverty are forcing girls as young as 8 into marriage • INDIA: Generational change in India: How might raising the legal age of marriage from 18 to 21 change the lives of girls? • INDIA: India's Covid crisis sees rise in child marriage and trafficking • INDIA: Analysis | What is forcing Indian women to stay at home? • INDIA: Child marriage widespread in Bihar, Rajasthan and Bengal: Unicef report • INDIA: Forced to marry 53-year-old man, minor attempts suicide, saved by villagers • INDIA: Sex with minor wife is rape, rules Supreme Court • INDONESIA: Indonesian police arrest Christian in forced marriage case • INDONESIA: Viral photo prompts Indonesian government moves toward banning child marriage • INDONESIA: Female clerics declare fatwa on child marriage • IRAN: 1500 cases of child marriage in one province only • IRAN: 4,000 child marriages registered just in North khorasan province in one year HRWF Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Newsletter • IRAN: Abuse of 11-year-old child bride sees some lawmakers calling for reforms • IRAQ: Will Iraq abolish ‘marry your rapist’ law? • IRAQ: Parliament rejects marriage for 8-year-old girls • IRAQ: Nine-year-old girls in Iraq could be forced to marry under new Muslim laws • IRAQ: Girls in Iraq ‘could be married at nine’ if draft law is approved • IRAQ: Iraq’s marriage and family rights are under threat • IRAQ: Sunni women tell of ISIS detention, torture • JORDAN: Parliament raises 'exceptional' marriage age to 16 • KYRGYZTAN: MPs say no to banning underage Islamic marriage • LEBANON: Refugee girls in Beirut 'face sexual violence, forced marriage' • LEBANON: Life at thirteen years old – a future stolen • LEBANON: The Chief’s Daughter • LEBANON: A lost childhood – Syrian refugees in Lebanon • LEBANON: No choice left for a girl but to marry • LEBANON: A better tomorrow, ‘Bukhra Ahla’ • LEBANON: Education and Empowerment to #GiveHope to young girls • LEBANON: Sherine's Story, a story of child marriage • LEBANON: Engaging male caregivers to end early marriage • LEBANON: Chasing a childhood in Shatila • LEBANON: A cup of tea served by child brides • LEBANON: A firsthand account of child marriage in a Lebanese refugee camp • LEBANON: Poverty for Syrian refugees could push children to marry and work • LEBANON: New study finds child marriage rising among most vulnerable Syrian refugees • LEBANON: Women empowerment stories: Mervat • MEXICO: Decree bans marriage for children under 18, eliminates exceptions • MEXICO: Study finds sex trafficking and child marriages linked • MYANMAR/MALAYSIA: Rohingya refugees should follow local Syariah law in matters such as marriage • MYANMAR: Activists call for clear minimum marriage age in draft child rights law • PAKISTAN: PTI lawmakers reject child marriage bill • PAKISTAN/CHINA: Pakistani Christian girls trafficked to China as brides HRWF Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Newsletter • PAKISTAN: Senate passes bill to fix marriage age as 18 for girls • PAKISTAN: Young Christian girl aged 13 abducted and forced into Islamic marriage • PAKISTAN: Set to raise minimum marriageable age to 18 after govt says it has no objections • PAKISTAN: Child marriage and the law • PAKISTAN: Passes marriage bill protecting Hindu women’s rights • PAKISTAN: Christian women forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their kidnappers • PAKISTAN: Bill banning child marriage fails after it’s deemed ‘un- Islamic’ • SAUDI ARABIA: The fine print of the child marriage ban • SAUDI ARABIA: Pushes for stricter rules on under-18 marriage • SOMALIA: Uproar after Somali lawmaker presents bill to legalise child marriage • SOUTH AFRICA: Call for end to child marriages • SOUTH SUDAN: Court annuls child marriage of 16-year-old in landmark case • SOUTHEAST ASIA: ASEAN nations join hands to eliminate child, early, forced marriage • SWEDEN: Struggles over child marriage • SYRIA: Poverty for Syrian refugees could push children to marry and work • TANZANIA: Tanzanian court upholds a law banning child marriage • TANZANIA: National survey on child marriage • TANZANIA: Tales of a child bride: 'My father sold me for 12 cows' • TANZANIA: You’ll now get 30 years in prison if you marry a child • THAILAND: The dark secret of Thailand’s child brides • TURKEY: Refugee child marriages drive adolescent pregnancies underground • TURKEY: Marriage law a blow to women's rights, say activists • TURKEY: Withdraws child rape bill after street protests • TURKEY: MPs support bill allowing child rapists to go free if they marry their victim • UK: Government accused of inaction as number of British girls forced into marriages abroad has soared by a third since 2015 • UK: Forced marriage: Mother jailed for four-and-a-half years • UK: More than 1,000 cases of forced marriage in UK last year, report says • USA: Utah lawmakers debate ban on child marriages HRWF Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Newsletter • USA: Bill aims to put an end to ‘child marriages’ in Minnesota • USA: Child marriage persists • USA: 11 Years Old, a Mom, and Pushed to Marry Her Rapist in Florida • USA: Child marriage is legal in New York — but this bill aims to stop it • WORLD: We have to stop blaming ‘backward’ culture for FGM and child marriage • WORLD: Child marriages: MEPs discuss how to put an end to this scourge • WORLD: Jasvinder Sanghera: I ran away to escape a forced marriage • WORLD: The legal age you can get married around the world, mapped • YEMEN: Crisis forces families to take desperate measures to survive • ZIMBABWE: Ending child marriages - layering approach the way to go • ZIMBABWE: UN Women, chiefs join hands to end child marriages • ZIMBABWE: ‘My dreams were destroyed’: poverty costs child brides dear AFGHANISTAN: Child marriage declines but remains high - Report “In 78 per cent of households, fathers are the main decision makers on issues related to marriage……Getting all girls into school is a key element in reducing child marriage, and it is important to convince parents, especially fathers to send, and keep their daughters in school.” By Pajhwok Reliefweb (29.07.2018) - https://bit.ly/2vCAozd - The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and UNICEF have launched the first-ever study on child marriage in Afghanistan. “This study is unique, as it looks at child marriage from various angles, providing a comprehensive picture of this practice,” says, Minister of Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled Faizullah Zaki. He slammed child marriage as an appalling violation of human rights that robbed children of their education, health and childhood. The minister urged parents to work together with the government to end child marriage. Finalised under the leadership of MoLSAMD, the study shows the security situation, poverty, deeply embedded beliefs and social norms put girls at a disadvantage. It says attention is often focused on the health-related impact of child marriage, with a limited understanding of the impact on education, nutrition and girls’/women’s participation in economic development. HRWF Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Newsletter Although there has been a reduction in child marriage in Afghanistan, it remains high. The unwanted practice, the study indicates, has dropped by 10 per cent over a span of five years. UNICEF Representative Adele Khodr said: “We commend the relentless efforts of the government to reduce this practice and their strong commitment to child rights.” However, she added: “Yet, further consolidated action is needed by the different actors in society to put an end to this practice and reach the goal of ending child marriage by 2030.” In 42 per cent of households at least, the study says, one member of the family got married before the age of 18. Yet, significant regional disparities exist, varying from 21 per cent of households in Ghor to 66 per cent in Paktia having at least one member who got married before the age of 18. The study was carried out in five provinces -- Bamyan, Kandahar, Paktia, Ghor and Badghis -- representing urban, semi-urban and rural areas. It highlights multiple factors behind child marriage, complementing already existing studies. In 78 per cent of households, fathers are the main decision makers on issues related to marriage. As many as 55.7 per cent of respondents agreed girls and boys must be consulted. Khodr called for ending child marriage to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty and give girls and women opportunities to engage and participate fully in their society. “Getting all girls into school is a key element in reducing child marriage,