Ban Child Marriage Worldwide
Adolescent girls are smart, inquisitive, hard-working and ambitious. But they are not ready for marriage. Still, one in seven girls in the developing world is married before her 15th birthday.
Being married off limits girls' opportunities. Girls that marry too young often never get the chance to get a full education. Their dreams of a better future are replaced with the realities of overwhelming household and family responsibilities. Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s.
Help give these girls back their future. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all countries to ban the inhumane practice of child marriage and promote girls' education. The UN already sponsors programs to improve education and maternal health, and change communities attitudes toward child marriage.
But more girls need help. Thank Secretary-General Ban for his work to end child marriage and encourage him to expand programs across the developing world.
Dear Secretary-General Ban,
Thank you for calling for an end to child marriage. Please continue your efforts and expand UN programs that combat child marriage across the developing world.
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A shocking one in seven girls in the developing world are married off before they are 15. Even worse, these young girls are at serious risk for deadly complications in pregnancy.
The UN's programs that keep girls in school, provide vital health services and educate communities to abandon the practice of child marriage work. But millions more girls still need your help.
Please continue your important work to ensure all adolescent girls have options and opportunities.
