Early and forced marriages are one of the most important social problems of many countries and are included in many important international agreements such as the United Nations (UN) Conventions.
These marriages are the cause of child abuse, violence against women and women. It is a controversial issue that is considered to be one of the moments when the inequality of power between men is seen in the most destructive way and is clearly considered a violation of human rights.
When we look at the standards specified in international agreements, every marriage under the age of eighteen means that a girl is married off. She also states that she is a child bride. Marriages made before the individual has completed his/her spiritual and physical development have led many studies to focus on child brides.
Child marriage, or in other words, early marriage, is a legal marriage between two people, at least one of whom is under the age of eighteen. It also means unofficial union through marriage. There is a naming problem regarding this issue. Concepts such as "child bride, child marriage, forced marriage, early marriage and pedophilia" are used to address the problem of child marriage at an early age. Experts working on children's and women's rights generally use the concept of child bride and think that the concept of pedophilia should not be used. They define this as legitimizing the marriage of children at an early age. The concept of pedophilia is not a concept that can alone explain the problem of child marriages. Child marriages are still a normal situation in recent times. It continues especially in rural areas.
Disadvantages of Early Marriages
Marrying a girl child at an early age involves sexual abuse of the child. It is known that sexual abuse experienced at a young age may have negative effects on the later developmental periods of an individual's life (Taner and Gökler, 2004). According to the Convention on Children's Rights, children have the right to be protected from abuse and neglect by their families, to have access to education and to express their opinions on matters concerning them. Marriage of girls is a violation of their rights. It is death. For example, girls who marry at a young age have to give up their education.
Marrying at a young age also has developmental disadvantages for children. With marriage, children leave school and their domestic responsibilities increase, and with birth, the responsibilities they have to fulfill increase. This situation may also cause restriction by society. For example, married women do not walk on the streets, etc.
Exposed to various restrictions by society and their spouses; It is debatable how happy girls who have not fully acquired social skills and whose identity development has not been completed will be in their marriages. When we look at the literature, it has been found that getting married at an early age is associated with negative consequences.
Another disadvantage of early marriages is that girls who do not have enough information about contraceptive methods have a high risk of unwanted pregnancy. Since the reproductive system of girls before the age of 18 is not yet mature, pregnancy can cause various health problems and even deaths in girls of this age. They can be listed as hypertension, anemia, bleeding, and flattening in the lumbar region. In addition, the risk of premature and difficult birth and the possibility of infant death increase in pregnancies at an early age. In addition, being a mother to individuals who are children themselves increases their inability to provide the necessary care for their babies and the possibility of the child dying due to lack of care (Başer, 2000).
Reasons of Child Marriage
Although child marriage has many drawbacks, there are many reasons why it continues in Turkey. First of all, laws must be regulatory regarding child marriage. The child protection law defines individuals under the age of 18 as children who need to be protected. However, existing regulations only punish an individual who marries a child over the age of 15 illegally if a complaint is made. This situation also causes problems in operation. Although the child protection law states that individuals under the age of 18 must be protected, on the other hand, the fact that a person who marries an individual over the age of 15 is only processed through a complaint can officially allow children aged 16 and over to marry. This is for ages 15-18. It is one of the biggest reasons for child marriages in Turkey.
The education and income levels of families also indicate that the risk of their children marrying off at an early age is high (Çakmak, 2009; Özcebe and Biçer, 2013). In families where financial difficulties are experienced, marrying off daughters can reduce the family's burden. It can even contribute to the family economy, especially if bride price is received in return.
Another reason is; are traditional practices. Traditional practices such as bride price, cradle payment and blood price marriage, which are still maintained in some segments of the society, cause girls to be married off at an early age. In addition, stereotypes about marriage in society cause this practice to continue. Sentences such as girls who marry late stay at home and early marriage increases girls' obedience to their husbands may be examples of stereotypes. Beliefs held by families may cause girls to marry at an early age. In connection with this, it can be said that the protective sexism levels of families cause them to marry their children off early. On the one hand, protectionist sexism may serve the function of marrying girls at an early age, preventing them from having premarital sex, and experiencing sexuality only for marriage. It is thought that early marriages are closely related to protective sex (Sakallı and Glick, 2003).
Solution Suggestions for Preventing Child Marriages
Child brides are more common in our country than in other countries. is too much. It also affects the individual and society levels greatly. First of all, it will be beneficial to look at the models implemented by developed countries when combating this problem. One of the biggest reasons why these marriages are so common is that they are accepted as normal in society. When these marriages are not seen as a crime, disease or human rights violation, such marriages cannot be prevented. In order to correct this social judgment, it would be useful to raise public awareness, provide training on this issue, and provide information on social media. In this context, awareness-raising trainings can be organized for families and children together with education, health and justice professionals. Also included in the MEB curriculum Adding Child Rights and Gender Equality courses may be effective in raising children's awareness.
Children's Education
As the level of education increases, the number of early marriages decreases. Education also indirectly enables the individual to be more effective in the basic decision-making mechanisms regarding his life and develops awareness. Parents who do not complete their children's compulsory education and training should be identified and deterrent measures should be taken against them (Aydemir, 2009).
For children in formal education, achievements explaining the disadvantages of marrying at an early age should be added to the curriculum. Subjects such as maternal and child health and reproductive health should be adequately included in the curriculum (Aydemir, 2009). The number of regional schools and hostels in economically backward regions where traditional values dominate should be increased. Compulsory education, which was increased to 8 years in 1997, should be increased to 13 years including pre-school education (Aydemir, 2009). Campaigns such as the "Let's Go Girls to School Campaign" should be organized to increase the schooling rate of girls. In order to prevent marriages at a young age, vocational training courses should be given importance and opportunities should be provided for women to start a business (Aydemir, 2009).
Education of the Public
Illiterate people Due to the high proportion of women, women's schools should be opened to increase the literacy rate among women. Families should be convinced about the medical, psychological and sociological drawbacks of early marriages. Education of both mother and father is very important in this regard and this education should be provided (Aydemir, 2009). Informational activities need to be carried out (Aydemir, 2009). Again, in order to raise awareness, written and visual media that affect social life should be used. Brochures should be prepared and widely distributed. Spot films should be prepared and broadcast on TV channels. Particularly, statesmen will touch upon the disadvantages of early marriage. It may be effective for them to announce their speeches to the public (Aydemir, 2009). When faced with problems, the telephone numbers of the unit to which the complaint will be filed and SHÇEK and the contact numbers of a complaint line to be established should be shared with the public (Aydemir, 2009).
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