The effects of child marriage in Yemen

Written by: Fatima Sharaf Al-Deen - Thursday, 13 February, 2020

       There is no doubt that child marriage is a social phenomenon that can be  described as a catastrophe due to its disastrous consequences for the life and future of girls. Such marriage often ends in the failure of having one or more children with a girl who is still a minor and the correct methods and proper methods of raising them are  not   known.
Child marriage is predominant in rural areas in particular, but the percentage of this marriage varies from one country to another.
 Yemen tops the highest ranks in child marriage due to the high rate of poverty and unemployment, which leads parents to marry their daughters in exchange for a generous amount of money, and the family's ignorance of the dangers of child marriage may be one of the most important reasons for their approval of this marriage.
Underage law is known to be a girl who has not reached the age of eighteen years of age in accordance with international law and is considered so in most countries such as the United States of America and Britain, and is not entitled to marry before this age.
In what the United Nations considers an attack on the rights of a child who has the right to education and the exercise of his life appropriate for his age.
 National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response carried out awareness sessions on the dangers of child  marriage and the negative aspects of marriage for underage girls and educating parents
The negative aspects of this marriage are summarized as follows:
 In this period , the girl's reproductive organs are 100% incomplete and for this she finds it difficult to bear the difficulties of pregnancy, which exposes her to many risks during marriage, during pregnancy such as pregnancy disorders, diabetes and stress. Studies indicate that there is a large percentage of children who suffer from congenital anomalies Because of the age of this young mother, with the exception of the birth of premature infants. In addition, to the high percentage of children who die before birth, there is also a death rate among young mothers during childbirth due to the inability of their bodies to bear pregnancy and childbirth.  Often the pregnant girl tends to give caesarean section for childbirth, because the nature of her body is not ready for natural birth.
 This marriage has psychological effects on the girl who is deprived of education and enjoyment at the stage in which she lives. In some countries, the girl is married at the age of eight and nine, which deprives these girls of their childhood.