She’s the First {UW} Global Awareness Program

What is it? The Global Awareness Program (GAP) is a program created by She’s the First headquarters. Each college chapter has a representative and the chapters are divided into groups based on location. She’s the First {Wisconsin} has Ethiopia and Tanzania. Once a month, we have a Google hangout and have a discussion about the topic given by She’s the First and the articles we find.

This Month’s Topic: Child Marriage Effects of Child Marriage Include: Premature pregnancy, maternal & infant mortality, health problems, illiteracy, poverty, and HIV/AIDS More than 100 million girls in the developing world will be married during the next 10 years AsE&feature=share&list=PL7565E5BC6A4C9FE E AsE&feature=share&list=PL7565E5BC6A4C9FE E

But there’s hope…. Girls with a secondary education are up to six times less likely to marry young compared to girls with little or no education. Education delays the age at which a woman marries, provides an alternative opportunity for girls than marriage, increases socio- economic status and therefore can break the cycle of poverty for that woman’s family.

Further Discussion Here are the Facts: -In Tanzania, more than 55,000 girls have been expelled from school because they are pregnant. -Tanzania has a high rate of teenage pregnancy, but not all of the pregnancies are from rape or child marriage. -Health care providers don’t give girls contraceptives if they are not married. -In Tanzania, it is illegal to have sex with a girl under 18, but girls can legally be married at 15. -In Tanzania, they believe they are helping the girls by showing them what can happen if they get pregnant.

Do you agree with what these schools are doing by trying to make these girls an example? What do you think of the law? Do you agree with it? Is it better than no law at all? What do you think should be done for the girls in Tanzania that get pregnant as teenagers from consensual sex? Do you think it’s right for these teenage girls to be arrested or forced to give the name of who impregnated them because it’s illegal to have sex with a girl under 18 years of age?

Want more? If you have further questions, would like the articles discussed tonight, or want more articles to read and discuss, me!