Child Marriages: Cause and Effect on Violence Against Children and Women

The role of NGOs in Child Marriages How can NGOs contribute? – The role and possible contributions of Non Governmental Organizations (“NGOs”) to prevent the vicious cycle of child brides who are first robbed of their childhood and subjected to violence due to a lack of empowerment into their adulthood.

Number of Child Marriages on the Rise Children who are married at alarmingly growing numbers, are being robbed of their childhood and are generally at a greater risk to be subjected to violence. The number of girls married before the age of 15 is expected to double over the next decade, the United Nations Population Fund (“UNPF”) has warned.

Why Call these Children Brides

There Is hope

Example of NGO Involvement in Turkey Taking this unacceptable situation into consideration TAUW started the ’Child Brides’’ Project and is seeking the solidarity of other women’s associations, including the International Federation of University Women (“IFUW”) and (“NFAs”) in this campaign to change the destiny of women across the globe.

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Child Marriages TAUW is trying to raise awareness and encourage the parties to take the necessary measures to promote changes in the social and cultural patterns of behaviour of women and men with a view to eradicating prejudices including those promoted by customs and traditions, which are based on the idea of the inferiority of women or stereotyped roles of women and men.

Child Marriages While the problem of child brides may appear to be a problem that is isolated to developing countries the fact is, as a result of immigration and multi-culturalism many developed countries are experiencing challenges dealing with the matter as well. Therefore we have invited IFUW and its 62 NFAs to support this campaign.

Child Marriages We believe that unless this vicious cycle is stopped, violence against women cannot be prevented. Uneducated girls become mothers who cannot protect their own daughters from the same fate. No doubt it will take time to put an end to this oppression but we can make progress by working together.