A vermillion sunset envelopes the South Asian atmosphere. Below the horizon a thirty-five year old groom, clothed in ritual Jamawar, and his family arrive at the gathering of two Pakistani families. They dance and chant to a ceremonial song; joy flows through everyone. Inside, the perception is formidable; a mother and relatives adorn her eleven year old daughter in a traditional wedding gown, henna tattoos, and extravagant jewelry. Wait, a eleven year old girl? Yes, her father arranged her to marry a man three times her age for a dowry of $400. Her mother explained to her daughter that she would be married before morn and live with her groom. The young girl, devastated, wails to her mother. She is a child bride.
Children forced to wed before the age of eighteen become victims of child marriage; the majority of these victims are girls, giving them the term ‘Child Brides’ (“Child Marriage”). Child marriage dispossesses young women of their decision to wed whom and when they please (“Marrying Too Young”). Generations of families in countries all over the world marry their daughters off at a young age: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Nepal, Mozambique, Uganda, Mali, Bangladesh, Chad, Niger, and many more, including developed countries (Stoparic). These families live in poverty their entire lives. Child brides, estimatingly introduced during biblical times, greatly impact the poverty in select countries (Gorney). Medieval Europe and Ancient Rome regularly practiced marriage before eighteen years of age for both males and females (Laiou). Religions, continents, and castes have passed this practice through history. Islam does not allow girls to take part in intercourse before puberty, although the Qur'an does not state when a gir...
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...g women in impoverished communities need education to avoid an unpleasant marriage, with this they can escape poverty.
Works Cited
“Child Marriage.” Forward.org.uk. Forward, n.d.. Web. 17 Feb 2014
Gorney, Cynthia. “Child Brides: Too Young to Wed.” National Geographic. National Geographic,
Jun 2011. Web. 28 Jan 2014.
Laiou, Angeliki. Coercion to Sex and Marriage in Ancient and Medieval Societies. Washington DC,
Jan 1998. Print
“Marrying Too Young.” UNPFA.org. United Populations Fund, n.d.. Web. 08 Feb 2014.
Roomtoread. “Moni’s Story.” YouTube. 24 Sep 2012. Web. 18 Feb 2014.
Stoparic, Bojanna. “Anti-Poverty Efforts Face Child Marriage Hurdle.” Womensenews.org. Women’s eNews Inc., 22 Aug 2006. Web. 02 Feb 2014.
Tinsley, Rebecca. “Meet ‘Cultural Norm’, He Kills Girls: The Tragedy of Child Brides.”
Independent.co.uk. The Independent, 7 Nov 2013. Web. 10 Feb 2014.
Perhaps the first thing one must consider is why there are increasing numbers of poor women having children out of wedlock. One explanation of this concept that Edin and Kefalas use is that the poor women view raising their own child as a sense of accomplishment. For instance, they explain “in the social world inhabited by poor women, a baby born into such conditions represents an opportunity to prove one 's worth.” (11.3). Essentially, the women of a low social class view their children as an opportunity for success. It represents a sense of hope and fulfillment that the mother feels when she has a child. Also, interestingly enough, women of a poor class viewed “marriage as a luxury” (11.2). There are also reasons that involve a sense of fear in control. For instance, Edin and Kefalas explain that “poor women do not want to marry until they are set… a young mother often fears marriage will mean a loss of control” (13.3). Essentially, a poor women who has a child
Khaled Hosseini, an inspirational author, has experienced and wrote books based on the society and culture of Afghanistan. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the main protagonist, Laila, is in the middle of a war-fighting country. At one point, her father says to her, “marriage can wait, education cannot” (Hosseini 103). Her father urges her to take the advantages of knowledge rather than jumping into marriage. Marriage is a life-long process that according to the Quran, bids a woman to follow her husband. All in all, it’s general knowledge that love, respect, and trust is what keeps the strong bond between man and wife. There have been too many times where they have been caged and looked down upon. Women deserve the same equality as men. It won’t happen immediately, but the change is happening, slowly. One way to gain that right, is to create an organization and promote the idea of women being able to get a job, education, and not being married at an early age in Afghanistan. The organization would be able to collect money for two buildings. One building will be for a school, so that women get the education they deserve. The other building opens up for opportunities for a job. Those jobs could range from sewing to cooking. Women are more than just a trophy to just sit there and act as though they do not have a voice. The challenge may be a struggle but not
Women throughout history have fought very hard to earn a respectable place in society, despite a patriarchal society and male dominance that remains. The roles of women have developed widely over time. Women frequently fall inferior to men politically, socially, and intellectually. This intellectual gap restricted many women to the role of a domestic caretaker. For others, education is the foundation to discover new ideas and new ways of thinking.
Imagine seeing a girl no older than eight years old, being forced into marriage to a man twice her age. For many girls around the world, being forced into marriage to much older men is an everyday occurrence in their lives. The word “arranged” is not usually associated with the word “forced” but in cases like these the girls have no choice but to agree to marry. Arranged marriages are deeply embedded into the cultures of some countries, with girls being promised into marriage when they are as young as a month old and marrying before they reach maturity. About a third of the women married in developing countries are married before they are eighteen years of age.
An example of women’s inequality in other countries is arranged marriage. According to a 2013 study 39,000 girls forced into marriage
You can get an education from parents at home such as homeschooling, teachers at school/college. People get an education from training, coaching, tutoring and guidance. Education makes woman more knowledgeable and skillful that she knows how to fulfill her responsibilities. Educated woman tends to be more independent that she can help in economic matter in the family. There is less chance of arguments that result in less family conflict. According to Khan, Sindher, Hussain, “Educated women can decide better about their life and participate in social enterprises for development. Jejeebhoy (1998) found that “secondary education has a stronger effect than primary education in reducing rates of violence and enhancing women 's ability to leave an abusive relationship”.( Role of Education in Eliminating Violence against Women pg.
The article, “Education, poverty and schooling: a study of delhi slum dwellers”, highlights that “education positively influences poverty reduction, while poverty, or low income, adversely affects the quality and quantity of education”. This model is very much apparent in Jackie’s life. As she lacked formal education in the early stages of her life, she remained in the cycle of poverty even into her adulthood. Without the knowledge of how to change things and the inability of doing so, it is very much difficult, if not impossible, for her to get out of this infinite
Women have made improvement in their lifestyles, now having jobs and being able to support themselves. However, more responsibilities are put onto women, having to choose between family or a graduate degree. Women are faced with this dilemma often choosing family over education, “the expectations
Poverty can be defined in many different ways. It is described as the state of being extremely poor. It is hunger, lack of shelter, lack of resources, decline in mental and physical health, not having a job, lack of power and representation. It is living one day at a time and fear of looking towards the future. Poverty is a significant threat to women’s equality. More women live in poverty than men, and women’s experience of poverty can be harsher, and more prolonged. Women are often left to bear more burden of poverty which results in the “feminization of poverty”. The goal of this paper is to identify key aspects of alleviating poverty specifically for women, by means of government assistance programs.
In the western world, it is common for a little girl to imagine herself walking down the aisle in a beautiful white gown and her father at her side ready to hand her over into the hands of the man of her dreams. However, in Sub-Saharan African societies like Ghana and Uganda, girls dream of the day when a man, along with his family, will come to her father’s house and propose a bride price to perform the traditional marriage rights. Bride price according to Gita Sen is problematic in that it is defined as a payment made by a prospective husband to the family of a woman he wishes to marry (Sen). From Sen’s definition, it is evident that bride price not only highlights the dominance of patriarchy in African societies but emphasizes the objectification of women as payments are made in exchange of a bride/woman.
Child marriage is a global issue, transpiring in all parts of the world. Abducted from their home and family, young girls - below eighteen - are married off against their own will not only affecting the girls (mentally and physically) but the country as a whole. The organization, Too Young to Wed, says “… marrying them off at such a young age, they are putting the girls at risk and perpetuation the cycle of powerlessness and poverty.” Child marriages occurred throughout history and still an affair today due to society’s tolerance. And the number of young girls forced to wed increased and will continue to increase if society remains tolerant to this sensitive matter.
“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation” Brigham Young ("Good reads," 2008). I have started with this remarkable quote to support my topic and how the women education is important for any community and nation. I have chosen to write about the women’s education rights in Afghanistan I believe that the education of women is necessary for any country’s development. In fact, women are the mothers, sisters and daughters and they deserve to be a part of the society. Also, Women should be treated the same as men, so they can be productive in their countries and contribute to its development. Women need to be independent and have their right to study and join schools and colleges. Actually, they can be effective citizens if they have enough support. Woman who can take an active part in the development process improve the economy power of the country raise the level of economic and for her family, can raise the level of personal income. Women need to have the basic knowledge, so they can deal with different life issues. They need to be educated, so they can be aware of different diseases and participate in the development of their country. Also, the lack of education for women can be a reason of social and economic problems. This will not help to develop their country if government doesn't believe in the importance of the education for women. As Nelson The role of women's education in development. Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ("Good reads," 2008).
The inequality of genders is a factor to the issue of poverty. Many nations are trying their best to fix the issue of gender inequality. Gender inequality is very visible in the primary and secondary levels of education in Ghana. The amount of boys always tends to outnumber the girls. Due to the fact that many women do not have any educational background, they either end up trading or get engaged in agriculture activity. In sub-Saharan Africa, women are barely recognized in issues that are non-agriculture. About 64% of women are mainly employed in the agriculture sector. The low employment level of women makes poverty a stronghold in the household of women. Women tend to not get enough income to support themselves and their families, especially when they are single parents or the man is unemployed. Women also tend to face low employment rates, and those with a good education, who have the chance of being employed, rarely get the opportunity. The women who are lucky enough to get employed are rarely promoted due to their
King E and Hill A, Women's Education in Developing Countries: Barriers, Benefits, and Policies. London: World Bank publications. 1997. Print.
While the age of marriage is generally on the rise, in many countries, especially among poor, migrant or displaced communities, early marriage – marriage of children and adolescents below the age of eighteen – is still widely practiced. Tremendous number of couples enters marriage without any chance of exercising their right to choose. Some are forced into marriage, others are simply too young to make an informed decision about their partner or about the implications of marriage itself. Studies have shown that teenage married couples are often less advantageous, may come from broken homes, may have little education and work, low status jobs in comparison to those that marry after adolescence. It could be very encouraging if our community established a prohibition on the early marriages, giving a room for young couples’ relationships to grow. I propose to ban early marriages because they bring a lot of flaws in our society and make the young couples face imposing obstacles during their life path.