Child Marriage in Tanzania

Seven years old and married
Young girls as young as seven years old are married in Tanzania. This fact limits girls' access to education and exposes them to serious harms, as warned by Human Rights Watch. This dedicated body has advocated that the Tanzanian government set 18 years of age as the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys as a first step towards eradicating child marriage and improving the lives of girls and women.

Dangers that face child brides
The dangers that face child brides are;
- death by internal bleeding on wedding night 1 
- death within days ofter arranged marriage 2
- higher risk of death in childbirth 3
- pregnancy related injuries such as obstretric fistula 3
- decrease in ability to negotiate safe sexual practices 3 
- children of child brides are at greater risk of perinatal infant mortality and morbidity 3
- stillbirths and newborn deaths are 50% higher in mothers younger than 20 years than in women who give birth later 
- low level of education 
- loneliness and feelings of isolation 
- cervical cancer 5
- poor access to health care 
- poor hygiene due to poverty 
- pregnant girls are at increased risk of acquiring diseases like malaria 

Reduction in Child Marriage
According to Girls not Brides 3, a study found that a 10% reduction in child marriage could be associated with 70% reduction in a country's maternal mortality rates. 
It is a fact that child brides are hard to reach, and form the quiet unheard voice in many countries. A young girl is totally in the care of her father; if she is sold as a financial transaction to another man as bride, what recourse does she have? Possible death after appalling suffering and genital tears, internal injuries as her young body undertakes duties suitable for an older woman who has fully matured can result. A greater vulnerability to HIV infection, HPV and STD's  5.

Great need for assistance for child brides
There is great need for assistance for child brides;
- To campaign for an end to the practice of child bride marriage
- To assist girls and women who have been affected by child bride marriage. Assistance needed includes education, health care, health teaching, necessities such as female hygiene products

Perhaps Divine Providence has 

led you to read these words.

In the spirit of Lumiere, is there 

anything you can do to help?

Petition to end child marriage;  
http://www.equalitynow.org/childmarriagereport

1. Yemeni child bride, eight, 'dies on wedding night'
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/11/yemen-child-bride-dies-wedding
2. Child bride, thirteen, dies of internal injuries four days after arranged marriage in Yemen 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1264729/Child-bride-13-dies-internal-injuries-days-arranged-marriage-Yemen.html
3 Girls not Brides 
http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/themes/health/
4 Tanzania; Child marriage harms girls 
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/29/tanzania-child-marriage-harms-girls
5 Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3372345/

With thanks to theguardian.com/ dailymail.co.uk/ girlsnotbrides.org/ www.hrw.org/ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov