The first-ever International Day of the Girl Child will be observed on 11 October 2012, as designated by the UN General Assembly last November.

UNFPA will use this occasion to focus attention on Child Marriage, a harmful practice that devastates the lives of millions of girls who are married off each year, often to much older men and usually with little say in the matter.

Child marriage is a human rights violation that is commonplace in dozens of countries in most regions worldwide, even where laws forbid the practice.

Child marriage jeopardizes girls’ rights, such as the right to education, because new brides are usually forced to drop out of school to bear children and to provide household labour.  In addition, married girls have few social connections, restricted mobility, limited control over resources and little or no power in their new households and are thus especially vulnerable to domestic violence.

The practice excludes girls from decisions regarding the timing of marriage and choice of spouse. It marks an abrupt and violent initiation into sexual relations, often with a husband who is a considerably older adult and a relative stranger.

Did you know that:

• When a girl delays marriage, everyone benefits.  A girl who marries later is more likely to stay in school, work, and reinvest her income into her family, which helps lead her family and eventually her community out of poverty.  Crucially, a girl who marries later is more empowered to choose whether, when, and how many children to have.  She and her family are more educated and healthier.
• Child marriage violates girls’ rights, denies them of their childhood, disrupts their education, jeopardizes their health, and limits their opportunities.  No cultural, religious, or economic rationale for child marriage can possibly justify the damage these marriages do to young girls and their potential.  A girl should have the right to choose whom she marries and when.  Parents want the best for their children, and need to support their girls’ choices and decisions to marry.
• UNFPA is working with governments and partners at all levels of society to deliver comprehensive programmes addressing the needs of vulnerable and married girls, including access to livelihoods, social support and health programmes, including sexual and reproductive health.  The ultimate aim is to end child marriage in this generation and to shift cultural attitudes to protect girls’ rights. 
• There is a huge cost to inaction on child marriage.  It is time for policy makers, parliamentarians, communities, families and young people to address this issue head on.  Let’s deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. Let girls be girls.