In a report released on Thursday in Juba, South
Africa, the Human Rights Watch called for an end to under-age marriage for
girls ranging from 15-19 years of age. In South Sudan it is reported that girls
are married off as early as the age of 12 by their families, often in exchange
for a dowry of cattle. Girls being
forced to get married have caused a major gender gap in school enrollment in
South Sudan. This type of situation is considered to be violating the right of
girls to be free from violence and to marry only when they
are able and willing to give their free consent. There have also been incidents
where a girl was brutally killed when she refused to marry a man she didn't
know and who was many years older. These incidents have become a big
issue because girls who have the courage to refuse early marriages are in dire
need of protection, support, and education in Sudan.
This kind of cases are not uncommon in some countries but
the Human Rights Watch believes that this is a violation to these girls rights
because they are not given the choice to get married, they are merely forced to
do so. These families consider this as a good thing because they intern benefit
from this kind of arrangement because, most times they receive cattle’s in
exchange which they consider to be a great deal. The Human Rights Watch have
made several recommendations to the government of South Sudan, including that
it make 18 the legal age for marriage, in a hope that it will decrease these incidents
from occurring.
4:53Pm, 3/8/2013, Sandrene Nelson
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