BRIDES SOLD TO BE WED
We can give these girls a better future
BY rosena allin-kHan LABOUR MP FOR TOOTING
WE all want children to have the chance to make the most of their potential.
At the core of that is access to education, which we are fortunate in the UK to be able to take for granted. Not everyone is so lucky.
Some 250 million women around the world have been forced into marriage by the time they were 15. Every seven seconds, another girl of that age becomes a child bride.
I met some of these girls when I visited Bangladesh with VSO International, who are taking part in the Girls Not Brides campaign. Child brides are often taken out of school and become totally dependent on their husbands, who are often much older and violent.
Many become mothers before they are adults and physically ready.
In a remote Bangladeshi province, I met with young women and their families to understand why this happens. It became clear that, as well as being connected to traditions and gender discrimination, this is also an issue deeply rooted in poverty.
For many families, marrying their daughter off means one less mouth to feed. And the younger the bride, the less is paid to the groom’s family under an illegal dowry system.
As we lobbied government officials and ran workshops with community groups, I saw hope. Programmes run by aid organisations work and are transforming the lives and futures of hundreds of thousands of girls.
But we must accelerate this to ensure all of our daughters around the world have the chance to be Girls, Not Brides.