The Amhara Girls Plight! Early marriage in Ethiopia causes and health consequences.

Published on: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:27:57 +0000

	The Amhara Girls Plight! Early marriage in Ethiopia causes and health consequences. Early marriage in Ethiopia: Causes and health consequences Comparative studies conducted in 2004 identified the Amhara region as having the highest prevalence, with 48% of rural married women and 28% of urban married women having married before the age of 15.3 Types of early marriage in Ethiopia include promissory marriage, whereby a verbal promise is made at infancy or even childbirth by the parents to have their children get married; child marriage, in which children under the age of 10 are wedded; and adolescent marriage, which involves girls aged between 10 and 15. In most cases, the child bride is taken to her in-laws immediately after the wedding; in other cases the parents agree that the girl stays with her parents until she is mature enough to live with her husband. In general, husbands are much older than their young wives. Early marriage is a violation of the fundamental rights of the child. Article 21 of the 1990 African Charter on the Right and Welfare of the Child states that "Child marriage and betrothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited and effective action including legislation shall be taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years." Also, the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (October 2005) and the newly adopted criminal law of Ethiopia (2005) acknowledge the minimum age of marriage for women to be 18 years and state that marriage shall only take place with full consent of both parties. Unfortunately, knowledge of and ...	From: endexye Views: 7 0 ratings
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