I found this really cool website called "The Elders". This is a website for an independent group headed by Nelson Mandela working to end child marriage by uniting international human rights organizations.
The subject of child marriage is an interesting one for me. One because in cases of some child marriages both the female and male are young. I think more emphasis is put on the girl in this situation. I find that although a girl is taken from her family, so is the young boy that has been arranged to marry her. While "The Elders" dont focus on the child's gender, I feel that international media doesn't cover the many young boys that are subjected to this type of situation.
This article is just one of many that i've found to be written about the stop to end child marriage for girls.
I do see that the girl is more at risk here, she would have to bear children at a young age, but physical abuse is not the only abuse I see present. Neglect for emotions of both of these children is at work here as well. Neither of these children can consent to this, and neither of them should have to be in a situation that I feel is strictly for consenting adults. I'm getting at the fact that even though the girl will suffer physical abuse, as well as emotional, we cant forget about the boys who will also be subject to emotional abuse. As children, we can't expect them to fully understand the responsibility of marriage, and when these children question, or refuse marriage, they are punished severely or killed.
I'm not trying to prove a point, or even make a case, i'm just spreading the word and maybe even offering another side to a well known problem that may seem to have one side.
Thoughts?? Should there be any emphasis on the young boys that also enter into these child marriages?
Ashley makes an excellent point, in my opinion. Related in some ways to one of the presentations we saw in class today--the video of Britney Spears basically beating up a guy. It seems to me that real feminism (if I can dare use such a term) is about wanting all people to be treated equally well, regardless of their gender or sexual identity. When men are physically abused (even if it's only pretend) or forced into arranged marriages as children, that deserves our attention. I plan to raise these examples the next time I teach this class. Thank you!
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