After
I had read “Playing with Fire,” I came across with this shocking movie on
YouTube, "The YOUNGEST Mothers in the World.” The youngest mom reported in this
movie is a five year old girl. This broke my heart as I used to work at nursery
with children at the age between 2 to 4, and I could easily see how painful and torturous
the child delivery would be for those small children. Small children cry over
almost everything and are the ones who need adults' help. It is hard to
believe that this 5 year-old girl could raise a baby by herself.
The
YouTube movie is 5:45min long:
The movie
shows several cases of the youngest mother in the world, so if you are like me
who do not have enough patient to sit in front of the screen for more than 5minutes,
you can just watch the first few minutes👀
Though
these children are claimed to be the youngest moms, it is likely that other
cases are not reported to the public media. Keep in mind, how rare it is for five-year-old girls to
be pregnant since the menstrual period starts usually around 12 years.
In
the book, “Playing with Fire,” one of girls, Chaandni got married at the age of
thirteen. Child marriage is practiced in India even after the legal age
of marriage is enforced to 18 for women and 21 for men. Globally, on average, the legal age
of marriage permitted is 16 for women and 17 for men. Yet, when it comes to
girls, many countries allow much younger ages to get married. In the United States, for example, Massachusetts
allows a 12-year-old girl to get married in “exceptional circumstances” with
parental consent. In
Japan where I am from, the legal marriage age for girls is 16. As I am in my
30s, I cannot imagine getting married and having a baby more than fifteen years
ago. I was very reckless at that time as most of teenagers are and needed to have
a plenty of freedom for my personal growth, including going out with my
friends, and attending school etc. However, child marriage challenges all those child’s/teenager’s rights that other children normally have. Although the legal marriage age is set
officially, in many cases, several countries do not criminalize child marriage.
According to Girls Not Brides
(GNB) campaign website, child marriage violates human rights and affects girls’
personal development and wellbeing. The campaign also claims that married girls
are far away from empowerment as, with limited freedom, they are cut from their
fundamental rights to health, education, and safety. With little or no access
to education, the families of child brides are more likely to suffer from
poverty. Also, child brides are at risk of experiencing dangerous complications
in “pregnancy and childbirth, contracting HIV/AIDS and suffering domestic
violence” (GNB). 
It is very dangerous for girls to get pregnant as their bodies are not fully matured when they are younger. When a mother is less than 20 years old, there is a 50% chance for her child to be stillborn or die in first few weeks of the birth (GNB). As I mentioned earlier, the average marriage age for girls in worldwide is around 16, which is 4 years younger than the age claimed by GNB. It suggests that most of women in the world are at risk of facing child delivery problems. Furthermore, there are specific circumstances that put girls more vulnerable to child marriage: conflict, displacement, and natural disasters. In those cases, families of girls consider child marriage as a form of protection (GNB). Although those families are meant to protect the girls, it is still a different form of child abuse and should be avoided.
It
is a very complicated issue and I could not address all problems related to child
marriage. Yet, the first step I think we can make now is to bring awareness of child
marriage and its consequences to the public. So, this is why I am sharing this
issue to you. I hope you learned something new, or reminded you child marriage issue.
References
Girls Not Brides.org. (2018). https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/
Mortimer, C. (2015). World minimum marriage age: Chart shows the lowest age you can legally get married around the world. Indipendednt.co.uk.
Thanks, Eriko, for bringing this issue. Although the video presents it in a more of an entertaining records-breaking manner, it is certainly an extreme aspect of our life, and is indeed very disturbing. No question about the health impact of such an early pregnancy. The social, economic, and psychological impact are immensurable. These are only some of the known cases, and perhaps happier. There are numerous unreported cases with tragic outcomes. No society is exempted from this, although some groups may have higher tolerance for earlier marriage, as such. I come from Eastern Europe where Gipsy young girls are known for having their marriages arranged really early in their lives. While the average marriage age is 15-16, it is not uncommon to have them married as yearly as 12. This is actually quite a tradition which dates back for centuries. There is apparently an explanation for that which you hinted to in your post: this was for their own protection. Very interesting. Back in the middle ages, the Gipsy population experienced enslavement in Eastern Europe. To protect their daughters from being abused by the owners, parents would arrange for marriages early enough. The risks were so imminent that this turned into a tradition which perpetuates nowadays long after the slavery was abolished. This is just one example which explains a particular case. I’m sure there are others. Not sure what the solutions are but would imagine it would take time if you think of how deep historical roots some of the problems have.
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