Restoring Hopes, Restoring Smiles ®
Far Too Young envisions a society free from child, underage and forced marriages -
a society where girls and women feel valued and reach their full potential.
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Far Too Young Inc is a United States non-profit recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Our work is supported entirely through donations. 100 percent of your contribution is tax deductible.
A CHILD BRIDE
Gender discrimination is embedded in the legal system and social structures and that along with poverty is the root cause of child marriages. Every year 4 million girls under the age of 15 are victims of child, underage and forced marriages in South Asia. This illegal practice robs them of their rights to education, their reproductive rights and consensual marriage.
Once married as children, the child brides are victims of lifelong servitude, domestic violence, pregnancy complications and death through early childbirth. Child brides are at risk of being trafficked and sold. Child marriage reinforces the gendered nature of poverty, with limited education and skills, bringing down the potential of the girl, her family, her community and her country. These hinder a girl throughout her adult life and into the next generation.
HEAR RANJU, BINITA & HEMA
SOUTH ASIA HAS WORLD's HIGHEST NUMBER OF CHILD BRIDES
WHERE WE WORK
Bangladesh
Bangladesh ranks among the 10 countries in the world with the highest levels of child marriage and is home to 38 million child brides of which, 13 million married before the age of 15. Bangladesh is determined to end child marriage by 2041 by intervening at the policy level, ensuring compliance to laws banning child marriage and changing norms among communities and families.
India
1 in 3 of the world’s child brides live in India. According to UNICEF, in India, although the prevalence of girl children getting married before the age of 18 has slightly declined from 47 % to 27 %, the country is home to the largest numbers of child brides in the world. Of India’s 223 million child brides, 102 million were married before turning 15. States in India like Kerala with high levels of better health and social indices, child marriage is lower.
Nepal
The reasons behind this high prevalence is deep rooted and complex in Nepal.
The centuries old tradition of dowry has led to unwanted girl children which in turn led them to be married off early. Poverty, illiteracy, inheritance laws, stigma against pre-marital sex, lack of education or vocational facilities amongst the youth are other causes.
The constitution of Nepal 2015 makes marriage under the age of 20 unlawful. There are fines and punitive measures for adults who marry those under 18, those who arrange, matchmake, facilitate and solemnize such weddings. However, the law has loopholes and inconsistencies that allow perpetrators to live and act freely. There are hardly any complaints or legal recourses the practice is socially accepted. However, Nepal is the only affected South Asian country to have co-sponsored the Human Rights Council Resolution which declares child marriage a violation of human rights and calls for strengthening and collating efforts to eliminate it. In 2014 Nepal participated in the Girl Summit held in London and committed to the global agenda to achieve gender equality and eliminate child marriage as per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and this was legally adopted as part of Nepal’s National Strategy 2072 (2015 if the Gregorian calendar). In 2016, Nepal hosted the event where Prince Harry lauded the country’s efforts in bringing down the number by 10% in a decade but called to increase efforts in girls’ education and empowerment.
USA
From the year 2000 to 2017, almost 300,000 minors between the age of 14 to 18 were married as children in the United States and vast majority (86%) were married to adult men. The biggest barrier to ending child marriage is lack of awareness according to UNICEF-USA. Child marriage is a gross violation of human rights. Elected officials must see the need to push legislation to formally outlaw child marriage in their states. 5 states in the US have no minimum age of marriage as long as parents consent.
PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE GIRL CHILD
GBV : Child Marriage
Gender Based Violence (GBV), already a global crisis, has increased many folds after the COVID-19 pandemic. Children and women have been futher abused, trapped and isolated as a result of the health crisis. Economic hardships, social instability, captivity and helplessness have futher made situations worst for them. Domestic and sexual violence human trafficking and child marriage is on the the rise like never before.
The pandemic has put an additional 10 million underage girls at risk of child, underage and forced marriages and now over 150 million child marriages are expected to take place by 2030. By 2030, the world’s target is to eliminate the practice, but reaching this goal will require coordinated action and additional investment. Many countries around the world are struggling to meet this goal. To end child marriage by 2030, progress must be 17 times faster than the progress of the last decade according to UNICEF.
Far Too Young, Inc is committed to the fight against child marriage and eliminate this practice and urgency to prioritize children for all recovery efforts to protect the coming generation from being the lost one.
Why is Child Marriage Wrong
Child marriage is a gross violation of human rights as it not only robs children of their childhood but leaves them vulnerable to violence, physical and mental abuse. Child marriages lead to disruption in education and in teenage pregnancies (mostly leading to higher risk and complications during childbirth) affecting the sexual health and development of the mother. With the well-being and future of the child bride and the lives and livelihood of her family at stake, eradication of this social injustice would have a direct impact on the welfare and prosperity of the wider population and nations.
Why Child Marriage Happens
Child marriage is rooted in gender inequality as girls are treated inferior to male children. Girls are denied their human rights such as access to education and health services. Laws protecting girls aren’t enforced. Stigma against premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies which is believed to bring shame and dishonor to the family forces girls to marry when they reach puberty. Poverty and insecurities lead families to marry girls early as it reduces financial burden on them. Marrying off girls early also means girls’ families pay less dowry and the grooms’ families bring in unpaid labor and servitude. Young girls are considered to be obedient and more hardworking. Old traditional practices like gauna, prevalent in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states in India and the terai in Nepal force girls to marry as children.
IF WE DO NOT END CHILD MARRIAGE, NINE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS CANNOT BE MET
