Dear Editor,
Just two days ago, on Thursday October 11, 2012, Guyana joined with the rest of the world, for the first time, in observing the United Nations (UN) International Day of the Girl Child by way of UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/66/170.
The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) were ahead in marking the day by hosting a well planned programme under the theme “Connecting Girls: Inspiring their Future”.
However, it was noteworthy that the UN’s theme “My Life, My Right, End Child Marriage” was not retained. Guyana is not secluded from child marriage which is very much practised in our society but is overlooked because of the secrecy that surrounds it. The UN reports that child marriage violates millions of girls’ rights, disrupts their education, jeopardises their health, and denies them their childhood, limiting their opportunities and impacting all aspects of a girl’s life.
As a matter of fact the UN Secretary General in his message to mark the inaugural meeting to mark the day reported that globally, around 1 in 3 young women aged 20 to 24 – approximately 70 million – were married before the age of 18. One third of them entered into marriage before they turned 15. According to another UN report child marriage cuts across countries, cultures, religions and ethnicities; 46% of girls under 18 are married in South Asia; 38% in sub-Saharan Africa; 29% in Latin America and the Caribbean; 18% in the Middle East and North Africa; and in some communities in Europe and North America too.
Despite a decline in the overall proportion of child brides in the last 30 years, the challenge persists, particularly in rural areas and among the poorest. If present trends continue, the number of girls who will marry by their 18th birthday will climb towards 150 million in the next decade.
The data is not very encouraging and everyone must become involved in protecting girls against this harmful practice. Just a few weeks ago I had to intervene in a case of child marriage of a fourteen year old. Thanks for the assistance of the Child Protection Agency and the Commander in the region in which it took place in helping to avoid another young girl being added to the statistics.
Fellow Guyanese, it is not good enough for us to gloss over such a serious issue as if it is not a part of our culture. We must all speak and act out against this phenomenon so that it does not get out of control as in the case of domestic abuse/violence.
Yours faithfully,
Audrey Benn
