Be a champion and help to stop child marriage

I’VE never thought about writing a letter to the editor before but now I must, and it’s about the recent cases of child marriages. Though these girls may be 11 or 15 years old, they are still in their teens and considered children.

As a retired educator who taught thousands of teenagers for 35 years, I think I have enough knowledge of children’s and teenagers’ thoughts, behaviours and tendencies.

Those aged below 11 years are considered as children but from 12 to 18, they are teenagers. But although they are categorised as teenagers, I think I am not wrong in still considering them as children.

Children are children no matter how much they profess themselves to be adults. So, can we honestly believe a child aged 11 or 15 is ready to shoulder the responsibilities of a wife and mother?

I am looking at this issue not just from the perspective of an educator but also as a mother to a 17-years-old daughter. I do not think my child at 17 years old is ready to be a wife to someone and, worse still, being a mother at this tender age.

She should be in school and then go to college or university, to further her education to help build a future for herself. Through education, she would be able to arm herself with the ability to think, act and behave rationally and wisely. Without an education, how in the world would a 15-year-old child know what her options are?

Yes, these child brides are mostly uneducated, come from poor families, and their option in life is to get married. This fact of life is probably drilled into them because their parents cannot afford their upkeep.

It’s so sad to know that in the 21st century, there are still families who are ignorant of the options open to their children through education.

Even a vocational school can open doors for them, allow them to be financially independent and maybe even help their poor family out financially. So, shouldn’t there be some inter- vention to help this “poor” child bride out?

Let’s just ponder on that fact. Should we intervene or shouldn’t we? Are we going to let this become a vicious cycle of poverty in their lives and their children’s lives? Is society going to say “Hey! It’s their life, we sympathise but what can we do?” Are we going to say that it is not right but fail to take affirmative action to help?

“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” – Rita Pierson, US educational trainer, motivational speaker and author