Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

“This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

Stopping Harm in Homes: Why We Need to End Child Marriage and Help Girls Go to School

Stopping Harm in Homes: Why We Need to End Child Marriage and Help Girls Go to School

by | Nov 17, 2023

 

Introduction: A lot of women around the world think it’s okay for a husband to hit his wife. This is a big problem. It’s even worse where girls get married too young and where governments don’t spend enough money on schools.

When young women think it’s okay for their husbands to hurt them, it’s often because they haven’t been taught that it’s wrong. This happens a lot where girls have to get married when they’re still very young. They miss out on going to school and learning about how they should be treated with kindness and respect. Without education, they don’t know that being hurt by someone you love is not okay. It’s important for everyone to understand that hurting another person is harmful and never the right thing to do. When we teach this in schools and make sure that girls can stay in class, we help stop the belief that violence is okay.

 

 

The Problem: When girls get married when they’re still kids, they have to stop going to school. They can’t learn and grow as much as they should. This makes it hard for them to stand up for themselves and makes it seem normal for their husbands to be in charge and hurt them. Also, when there’s not enough money for schools, not everyone can learn about respecting women and saying no to violence.

 

  • Girls married young often have to leave school early.
  • Missing school means they don’t learn important things, like how it’s wrong to be hit.
  • They might think it’s normal for husbands to be mean, because they don’t see other ways of living.
  • Schools with less money can’t teach kids about being kind and that hitting is always bad.
  • This lack of education can make some women think it’s okay if their husband hurts them.
  • It’s really important for everyone to understand that being hit is never okay and not their fault.

 

 

What We Can Do: Governments need to make new rules:

 

  • Stop Child Marriage by Law:

    • Make it a rule that you have to be older to get married.
    • Girls will have time to grow up and decide what they really want.
    • This helps girls to not be pushed into marriage when they are too young.

  • Invest in Education for All, Especially Girls:

    • Give more money to schools so they can teach better.
    • Girls can learn about their rights and how to take care of themselves.
    • When girls go to school longer, they know more and can make smarter choices.
    • Educated girls are stronger and can say no to being treated badly.

 

 

  • Stop the Hurt:

    • Changing these things means less women will get hurt at home.
    • When we stop child marriage and teach everyone, women are safer.

  • Fair Treatment for All:

    • It’s about treating women the same as everyone else, with respect.
    • No one should think it’s okay to be mean to women.

  • Work for a Better World:

    • We all need to help make these changes.
    • Our goal is a world where no woman thinks it’s normal to be hurt.

 

The Impact of Early Marriage on Literacy and Education Attainment

by | Nov 22, 2022


*SDG5.3     
*Fight for Education and Knowledge, Help END Child Marriage

While 96% of countries have laws that identify the legal age for marriage, there are still countries that do not specify a minimum age and most are African countries. According to the UN, even some countries that do have laws grant exemptions using courts or parental permission that allow minors to wed. Early marriage not only exposes girls to sexual exploitation and violence, but it also denies their right of education and future opportunities.

There are still a lot of countries with very low education levels for women, most of which are African countries. These same countries also have a very high early marriage rate for women (age below 18).

There exists a strong correlation between early marriage of women and women educational level.

Early marriage should stop in all countries, especially countries suffering from a low level of education for women.

So, what is the solution?

The best way to tackle the problem on the short run is to enforce laws and policies that prohibit people under a specified age (at least 18) from getting married, and which allow no exceptions. Another suitable solution is to raise general awareness of the issue and its massive effects. This could be done by inviting women and parents with changed views and victims of early marriage to speak of the matter. And finally, we should work on reducing sexism and promoting gender equality by empowering women and integrating them in public activities and politics.

To validate this solution, Bangladesh followed such an approach in 2017 by enforcing a Child Marriage Restraint Act that set the minimum age of marriage for women at 18 and for men at 21. This act positively influenced the overall educational level of women where the average female enrollment in secondary schools increased from 75.22% in 2017 to 81.5% in 2020 as you can see in the figure below .

African countries have long struggled with poverty and are still struggling until this very day. While policies can be set to reduce early marriage on the short run, the challenge is in decreasing poverty which is often the reason why families marry off their daughters in the first place and the reason why parents prefer rich sons-in-law to assist them financially.

Use the below visual for an interactive experience:

Done by: Lara Baltaji