Tag: Human Rights Watch

Child marriage in Malawi: The reality

The government of Malawi should increase efforts to end widespread child and forced marriage, or risk worsening poverty, illiteracy, and preventable maternal deaths in the country.

According to government statistics, half of the girls in Malawi will be married by their 18th birthday, with some as young as age 9 or 10 being forced to marry.

Malawi faces many economic challenges, but the rights of the country’s girls and women should not be sacrificed as a result.

A Human Rights Watch report based on interviews with 80 girls and women in Malawi documents how the practice prevents them  from participating in all spheres of life. Read it here.

Child marriage in South Sudan

Human Rights Watch report has called on South Sudan to increase efforts to protect girls from widespread child marriage in the country. The practice “exacerbates pronounced gender gaps in school enrollment, contributes to soaring maternal mortality rates, and violates the right of girls to be free from violence, and to marry only when they are able and willing to give their free consent.”  According to government statistics, close to 48% of South Sudanese girls between 15 and 19 are married, some as young as age 12.