Fighting Child Marriage Through Hygiene Awareness
by Sylvie Hughes Gurgaon,India 5th November 2013 Child marriage in India affects a huge portion of adolescent girls in the country. With 47% of girls in India marrying below the legal minimum age of 18, India has the highest number of child brides than any other nation in the world. However, despite its huge number of illegal marriages, in October India refused to sign the first ever UN resolution against the practice of child marriage – an initiative which is being supported by 107 other countries worldwide. Child brides face a multitude of serious mental and physical health problems. Young married girls face problems of sexual and domestic abuse, causing high rates of severe depression. Girls as young as 13 drop out of school once they get married, and as a result they are unable to continue their education or seek help. The section of society who are the most in need of education, health and hygiene awareness are unable to access it. This leads to an increase in