Girls around the world are being forced to marry before they've even hit adulthood. For many of us, this seems like a small, dying problem with little impact for us. In the past two weeks, I've learned about just how prevalent this issue is.
Imagine a girl you know who's under 18: it could be a daughter, a friend, a sister. Imagine how different her childhood would've been if she had been married at 12. Or even 15. Imagine if she were forced to bear children, and because of her age was more likely to face health complications. What if you knew that pregnancy is consistently among the leading causes of death for girls 15-19 worldwide?
This is happening to millions, and millions of girls all over the world.
Now what if I told you that you could make a difference? You can. If you purchase any item from Long Distance Love Co., from now until August 9, we'll donate $1 to Girls Not Brides!
Some Statistics:
This problem is not so far from home. Only two states in the U.S. have blanket laws protecting girls from marrying before they're 18: Delaware and New Jersey. Twenty-seven states, twenty-seven, make it possible for girls to be married before they're 15.
Globally, one in five girls are married before the age of 18, and that number almost doubles to one in three girls in the least developed countries. "Of the world’s 1.1 billion girls under 18, 22 million are already married.... If there is no reduction in the practice of child marriage, up to 280 million girls alive today are at risk of becoming brides by the time they turn 18." (UNICEF Child Marriage Report).
If you click here, you can see child marriage rates by country. For girls under 18, and for girls under 15. The highest numbers of child brides exist in India, Bangladesh and Nigeria; however, Niger, the Central African Republic, and Chad have the highest rates of child marriage.
Last year, 8 countries had a child marriage rate of over 50%.
Follow our page @longdistanceloveco on Instagram to learn more about our campaign to end child marriage!
Makenna
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