End child marriage in world's poorest countries

Globally, an estimated 60 million girls in the developing world under the age of 18 are married, a figure that is estimated to increase by another 100 million over the next decade if present trends continue.

In 2005, the Department of State conducted a world-wide survey and found child marriage to be a concern in 64 out of 182 countries surveyed, with child marriage most common in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia.

Child marriage is most common in the world’s poorest countries and is often concentrated among the poorest households within those countries. This harmful traditional practice of child marriage is most common in poor, rural communities. It is closely linked with poverty and low levels of economic development. In families with limited resources, child marriage is often seen as a way to provide for their daughter’s future. But girls who marry young are more likely to be poor and remain poor, and its consequences only perpetuate the cycle of poverty.  (...)

The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act will prevent child marriage by educating, protecting, and empowering young girls in the developing world. The act seeks to eliminate the harmful practice of child marriage overseas by requiring the U.S. government to develop an integrated, strategic approach to the prevention of child marriage. The legislation establishes a Trust Fund to Prevent Child Marriage, includes new funding authorization, and requires the State Department to address status of child marriage in countries with high rates of child marriage in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. (...)

Please write to and/or call your U.S. Representatives and Senators and President Obama tell them to pass the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (S.414/H.R.6087). Also ask your U.S. Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act.

Read more on change.org and sign the online petition.

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