Considering the worst effects of early marriages, the United Nations has dedicated 11 October to 'girl child'. The UN has urged the international community to consider this day as part of a global effort to end the practice of child marriage which poses a high risk to the child.
The Afghan government is yet to create more awareness among public regarding the ill impacts of early marriages. Early and forced marriages have accompanied Afghans since centuries and it seems like that this bad practice would continue to persist for longer periods of time, if timely measures are not in place.
It has been estimated that 49 countries have a significant child bride problem. Among those countries, a prominent one is Afghanistan where it is believed 70 to 80 per cent of marriages are before the marriage age of girls and boys or forced. Such marriages are generally occurring because of family pride, the wishes of the parents, or social obligation.
In Afghanistan, brides are always younger than grooms. Even, there are incidents where there is a huge difference between the age of a man and the age of woman whom he is getting married with. This happens especially in cases where a man goes for a second wife and marries a bachelor woman after his previous wife dies or is divorced.
There have also been cases where a girl under the age of 18 has been forced to marry a man aging 40 or above. Such a trend is a clear violation of Afghan Constitution which states: "Any kind of discrimination and privilege among citizens of Afghanistan is forbidden. Citizens of Afghanistan, men and women, have equal rights and responsibilities in front of the law." But unfortunately, forced and early marriages entrap girls and deprive them of their basic rights.
"Girls aged 10-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24," a group of UN organizations said in a statement on Thursday to mark the girl child day. Allowing the problem of early marriages unaddressed would mean pushing more young girls to death.
It is, therefore, high time for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Afghan Ministry of Women Affairs (MoWA), Civil Society, UN and other concerned organizations to take solid measures to counter the problem.