Child marriage needs to be abolished in countries such as Malawi and Bangladesh.
Due to the severity of rape, sexual abuse and sexual harassment in 3rd world countries such as Malawi and Bangladesh, parents seem to feel it is justified to marry off their young daughters even before the age of 18. Although our culture is quick to scorn when we hear about child marriages, they are seen very differently in other cultures. In essence, very young girls in many countries are subjected to verbal and physical abuse to the point where many are psychologically traumatized and, as a result, even committing suicide. This is problematic to the point where parents feel safer that their daughters be married very young, in order to reduce the amount of physical, verbal, and sexual abuse by strangers. In fact, parents have to choose between the “lesser of two evils” so that their daughter can be safer, healthier, and kept out of some harms way. For example, if a young girl is not married, she may be exposed to “acid throwing” or rape where it is considered normal and acceptable to do these horrific acts to young girls. Having a young girl married is considered “protection” even though her husband usually subjects her to the same physical or sexual abuse. This complicates the issue of child marriage because while we tend to think that girls should have the right to be protected from early marriage, we might not consider what horrible things early marriage can protect them from.
Articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/03/africa/seodi-white-child-marriage/index.html
http://mic.com/articles/120720/bangladesh-is-one-of-the-worst-countries-for-child-marriage-for-one-horrible-reason
