Child brides: how old is too young to marry?
The United Nations warns that millions more young girls are destined to become child brides. If current trends hold, it says, many will be under the age of 15. This episode of Inside Story asks how old is too young to marry.
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Marrying off young girls is a culturally sensitive issue, and it draws a range of reactions from different countries and communities. Critics argue that it is full of danger, damage and discrimination, and that it violates human rights.
The UN predicts that 140 million girls will become child brides between 2011 and 2020. That is more than 14 million girls a year, it says, who will marry too young: some 39,000 every single day. Of these, it warns, 50 million will be under the age of 15.
Presenter Jane Dutton is joined by:
- Kakenya Ntaiya, a former child bride and founder of the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a girls' primary school in Kenya;
- Sadaf Raza, from the Ideas for Life Trust, which promotes women's rights and education, among other things;
- Naomi Williams, from the global children's charity Plan.