This Thursday the first International Day of The Girl Child aims to focus attention on two major issues affecting millions of vulnerable girls -- the tragedy of child brides and the importance of girls' education.
Ten million girls every year are removed from school and forced into marriages they did not choose. Girls of nine, ten and eleven are among those whose childhoods are stolen, and destined instead to a future of poverty and exploitation.
My recent report on child marriage makes clear that the surest way to end this scandal of child brides is to ensure that every girl goes to school. Ending the destruction of talent and opportunity that comes with early marriage would also generate wider benefits. Children born to very young mothers (who often live in extreme poverty) are more likely to die before their fifth birthday; keeping girls in school and out of marriage delays them having children so young. Prolonging girls' education could therefore save an estimated 500,000 infant lives between now and the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goal on child mortality.
That is why every government, UN agency and donor should include in their education strategies clear targets for eliminating early marriage, backed by policies and financing provisions. On Thursday I'll be supporting the call by a number of UN agencies and leading campaigners including Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson to accelerate progress in reducing the number of child brides.
Commendable progress in narrowing the gender gap in education has been made, though far too many girls are still denied their right to schooling because of gender discrimination. This week Plan International will publish its findings on girls' education. Providing girls with learning opportunities makes them less likely to be a child bride and more likely to be informed about HIV/AIDS, hygiene, nutrition and employment prospects.
Later this year Sarah Brown and Sue Smalley will publish a study summarizing what needs to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal promising basic education for every girl by the end of 2015.
Part of my remit as UN Special Envoy for Global Education is to work to end the scandal of violation of girl's rights by offering education for all. Our guarantee on International Day of The Girl Child is that we will do everything, everywhere to ensure that the millions of girls who have not gone to school today will get their chance of an education and have their basic human rights respected.
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The drug war denied many millions of the world’s poorest people their legitimate crops, at the same time attacking them with military intervention and when they retaliate we call them unprovoked terrorist attacks by people who hate freedom.
The money that comes from the illicit hashish, opium and cocaine trade, funds the activities of groups like the Shining path, the Maoist rebels the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, you name it.
Every police force in the world is twice the size and ten times more corrupt than they would be because of the drug war.
Human sex and slave trafficking, it's no coincidence that the most impoverished areas that suffer these problems the worst, were all once major legitimate hemp, cannabis or opium producers.
The drug war has left a monumental trail of destruction, poverty and rampant corruption making it impossible to deal with any issue of importance from child brides to poaching rare animals to acts of terrorism and here we have yet another article that sweeps all that history and damage under the carpet.
We'll just continue the pretense that it's not our fault and that people are not suffering these cruel injustices and their governments are not going backwards rather than forwards as the result of our violent interference in legitimate economic and personal pursuits.
Start thinking laterally Gordon.
You seem to be a good man who cares, now you only need to get wise.
As a serving Politician, former Prime Minister of Her Majesty's Government, and a UN Envoy; would you please address the issue of David Icke slandering you on his website with regard to Paedophilia allegations?
He is undermining the good nature of Politicians, the role of Prime Minister, and no doubt undermining your role in the UN; a practice that shouldn't be allowed to continue unchallenged.
The white man didn't set a good example during those imperial days.
The Scots in Burma had their keeps as they called the young Burmese girls.
Mohamed, who exemplifies the perfect life, married a 6 year old girl when he was an old man, and therefor it is good and noble for muslims to marry 6 year old girls.
1) Mohammad did NOT marry Aisha when she was only 6. Supposedly she was 9, or 12, or at least 15... depending on who you ask. But, it doesn't matter anyway because,
2) in Islam, "there are NO child brides. Islam doesn't allow it."
What's that you say? No child brides? How could that be since many Muslims DO believe that Mohammad married a 6 year old girl, and since Muslims today in many parts of the world CONTINUE to marry girls that the rest of us consider to be children? How can they seriously argue that Islam doesn't allow marriages to children? Simple. To them, any female who has reached menstruation is no longer a child. Even if she had her period at only 8 or 9 years old, she's no longer a child. She's reached her "age of maturity." So, if a 60 year old man marries her, he's marrying an adult. It's therefore "utterly false" to say that marriages to children are allowed in Islam.
That's a neat rhetorical trick, huh? Prior to last week I wouldn't have believed that such an ancient definition of "maturity" in young girls was still relevant today. But, I heard this straight from the Muslims' mouths. Do any of us actually buy this argument today ? I hope not.
For example, Indian children from poor backgrounds are married at an early age, they could be Muslim or Hindu, the religion is irrelevant in this case, even though child marriages are banned there are loop holes.
Regarding Islam, the Scholars say the Prophet only married one girl at the age of 6/9 on the command of God . She was not put to the kitchen, nor was she the slave of his house or a baby making machine. The consummation did not take place until 17+/21 or 35. Her biography shows that she was highly educated, her husband, the Prophet sought her advice and told his followers to learn part of their faith from her, she taught men and women, the Companions consulted her on matters of inheritance, halal,haram, the sayings of the Prophet, medicine and other matters. 2000 sayings (Hadiths) have been attributed to her. She advised her father, the Caliph after the death of the Prophet and was a leader of an army in the first battle after the death of the Prophet.
If Muslim parents want their daughters to emulate Aisha, then they should ensure that they and the men they will eventually marry will equip their daughters to achieve even an ounce of what Aisha did.
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/3291.htm
musn't upset the voters hypocrite......................
Another source of this continuing misconception is attributable poor journalism when it comes to this subject. For example nearly any documentary or report for a Western audience will show scenes from Tourist sex venues, especially if the narration is on forced/under age prostitution. Ironically they are filming the tiny segment of Thai prostitution where these concerns rarely occur.
Lastly the U.S, is reportedly home to approx 300,000 child prostitutes, with approx 17'500 women and girls trafficked in annually ( UN and DOJ). With the absence of large hordes of males flying in to fuel this, we know where both the supply and the demand for it is coming from.
I'm no fan of Gordon Brown politically, though I can only wish him success with this initiative. I believe however this will only work if we are willing to take a long, honest and most likely painful look at our own communities first.
Sorry about the long length of this post, it is by no means meant to be taken as a criticism of your post.
in Bangladesh 45% of women between 25 and 29 were married by the age of 15.
Yemeni law set the minimum age for marriage at 15 but tribal customs often flouted the law. In 1999 the minimum marriage age of fifteen for women was abolished; the onset of puberty, interpreted by conservatives to be at the age of nine, was set as a requirement for consummation of marriage. In practice "Yemeni law allows girls of any age to wed, but it forbids sex with them until the indefinite time they’re 'suitable for sexual intercourse. In April 2008 Nujood Ali, a 10-year-old girl, successfully obtained a divorce after being raped under these conditions.
The widespread prevalence of child marriage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been documented by human rights groups. Saudi clerics have justified the marriage of girls as young as 9, with sanction from the judiciary. There are laws defining the minimum age in Saudi Arabia as young as eight years.
Shameful!