Child marriage is defined as boys or girls who get married beforehand the age of 18 and a fundamental abuse of human rights, but this issue is more common among young female. It is also a worldwide problem and it rates a dramatic change especially in Africa. Child marriage has caused endless suffering to the victims.
It has reduced children’s education, affected overall health and put the affected people at a disadvantage (Birech 2013). There were 52 million girls who were under 18 year-old were married in 2002. After that, 25,000 of girls who below 18 years old were being married each day, and it is projected that 100 million young girls will get married by the year of 2012. Child marriages happen greatest habitually in South Asia, there were 48% of females who aged between 15 and 24 get married before at the age of 18. These statistics are 42% aimed at Africa and 29% in Latin, America and as well as in Caribbean.
Though the meaning of child marriage comprises boys, there are more children married under 18 years of age are girls (Nour 2006). Some argued that get marriage at an early age can spend more time with partners and believe that after many practical difficulties, the relationship between husband and wife can be stronger. However, child marriage can influence physical and mental health and divorce rate is high.First of all, the government should impose a minimum age for marriage if not it will harm teenagers’ physical and mental health. Child marriage is associated with a series of adverse physical and mental health consequences for the young brides. The lack of access to the information of reproductive, coupled with the inability to make decisions within the family, leads to a higher probability that a child bride will suffer unwanted pregnancies (UNION 2015). Child marriage exposes girls to many harmful physical conditions and their mental health is also affected.
Moreover, child brides also suffer from social isolation and are often confined to the bridegroom’s home and prevented to visit former family and friends especially the Chinese in China. Child marriage is usually forced to end education ahead of schedule, and is unable to enter school education development projects. Dropping out of school means not only losing educational opportunities, but also losing the ability to interact with peers of the same age and socialize outside the home unit. This hinders the development of young brides because it hinders the formation of an independent identity. These factors may lead to an increased a higher risk of depression, anxiety and suicide. The high receptivity to domestic violence also contributes to these adverse outcomes (Ramnarine 2017). Thus, early marriage will not only harm young brides’ mental health, but also physical health.
Secondly, bringing up children may be difficult for the young couples. Some young people get wedded before the age of 18, and certain of these marriages are caused by chance. Some are introduced to love at first sight; some are frothy love, and they get married without trial; some are innocent and hasty.
Because of young, psychological development is not mature, it will not cultivate feelings, do not understand and care for each other. It is very easy to cause a marriage to break down. Other than that, an early marriages are more likely to end in divorce, because young couples are considered immature due to hold the great responsibilities as a husband and a wife and later in the future to bear with children.
Teenagers cannot decide what the most important things in life is. Basically, these young people only like to seek happiness and pleasure and believe that marriage is the best platform for happiness. Young people do not know the great responsibility is coming in the future.
After a while, the young couple may get tired of marriage and start divorcing (Johary 2013). Therefore, the young couple must know what the priority in life is and as well as the realistic.Apart from that, some critics believe that the earlier the partners get married, the more time spend together and the more problems these young people had conquer hand in hand, the stronger the relationship is. In the process of overcoming difficulties can help young couples to have more mutual interest, consequently, it is fairly easy for young people to discover common ground and see eye to eye on numerous problems.
In addition, such partners are more likely to negotiate and to ease each other more effectively. If young couples are truly love each other, spouses would always look for cooperative solutions in difficulties and avoiding divorces (Advantages and disadvantages of an early marriage 2016). Therefore, an early marriage gives couples have more time to spend with one another.
In conclusion, the government over the world should set a minimum age for marriage to safeguard the young teenagers. As we all know early marriage is a global problem and has a lot of enormous disadvantages, but it also has a little bit benefits. The young people should start their careers first and then get married. When their careers are successful, they are a little older, their temperaments are more stable, their emotions are more stable, and they have certain economic conditions. At this time, marriage is often a happy marriage.
In the future, it is hoped that the government of each country, therefore the serious problems of child marriage can be overcome and can protect the teenagers, especially young girls, as well.
