Ethiopia: Early marriage of girls causes death and disability
An Inter-African Committee film about early marriage in Ethiopia focuses on the harmful effects of this traditional practice.
Girls as young as eight-years old are having their marriages arranged by their parents. Many girls go on to conceive as soon as they reach puberty. This increases the incidence of fistula and mortality for mother and child during labour.
In a mini version of the IAC film about early marriage in Ethiopia, nurses and doctors in the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital explain how fistula means that many young girls cannot control their urine and bowel movements. The social stigma attached to this condition leads many who have received treatment at the hospital to seek sex work or low-wage domestic jobs in the city, fearing rejection if they were to return to their homes. If girls were allowed to to go school in their teenage years they would be able to better contribute to the developments of their country. At present the maternal mortality rate in Ethiopia is one of the highest in the developing world.
To watch the video, follow this link: www.iac-ciaf.com/iacvideo.htm#324395522
Submitted on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 00:00
- Niger: 'Wahaya': Young girls sold into slavery
- Egypt’s first female genital mutilation trial ends in not guilty verdict
- Iran: Urgent concerns in submission to the 20th session of UPR Working Group
- “I regret killing my husband” – Kano child-bride speaks
- CPD47 Statement: It’s Unacceptable for Youth SRHR to be Deemed “too Controversial”
- On May 28, International Day of Action for Women’s Health, Women’s Rights Defenders Mobilize Worldwide Calling for the Inclusion of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Post-2015 Development Agenda
- Rights Must Be At the Center of the Family Planning Summit: Civil Society Declaration
- Canada: Polygamous communities persist on grounds of 'religious freedom'
- Update: Kyrgyzstan: Continued access to abortion - safe, for now
- Kyrgyzstan: Support the campaign to ensure continued access to abortion
- Influences of Religious Fundamentalism on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women
- Reclaiming and Redefining Rights: ICPD+20: Status of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Middle East and North Africa
- Substantive Equality and Reproductive Rights: A Briefing Paper on Aligning Development Goals with Human Rights Obligations
- Early and Forced Marriage in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Legal Empowerment of Unwed Mothers: Experiences of Moroccan NGOs