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Hey guys, here it is. If you don't want to research this way that is totally fine. I am going to just in case anyone else wants to view and respond. I am going to send this link to a few friends who have worked in Ethiopia so that maybe they can give some input.
This is a basic post where we can write what we have found (I will email you the username and password). If you don't want to create a post then you can just write in the "post a comment" section at the bottom of each entry. Email me if you have any questions! Here is a site that I came across. Haven't researched it at all, just wanted to get the ball rolling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_circumcision
posted by Blessed Are The Children... at 4:13 PM
2 Comments:
Lisa's early marriage info 3/25:
website: www.uniceforg/ethiopia
"Fighting Early Marriage to Increase Girls' Education"
"Studies conducted by the National Committee on Traditional Practices in Ethiopia (NCTPE) state that 57 percent of girls in Ethiopia marry before the age of 18."
"The practice of early marriage is more extreme in northern Ethiopia with girls married at as young as 8 or 9 years old."
"Girls are sometimes pledged to marry a particular male at birth."
"Early marriage rates in the Amhara regions of Ethiopia are 82 percent and in Tigray regions 78 percent."
"The importance of girls' education is under-rated on the part of the parents and community."
"Child marriage decreases the value and need to send girls' to school."
Also from webite: www.unicef.org/Ethiopia
"Wubit: Child Bride"
What is wrong with Child marriage?:
"It violates the human rights of the children"
"It deprives the girls of security and affection from their parents at a young age."
"The reponsibility with marriage and maintaining a household makes attending school virtually impossible."
"The girls are deprived of the right to play."
"It can create a living situation where there is physical violence by the in-laws."
"In poorer families, child brides get the least amount of food."
"Girls are powerless and lack assertiveness." (I question whether this one is culturally subjective?)
With child marriage comes early pregnancy:
"It is not uncommon to have to walk two to three days to get to the nearest health clinic."
"Inadequate healthcare during pregnancy."
"Child brides are high risk for prolonged labor and prolonged labor can lead to still births and fistulaes."
The following are explanations why child marriage practices may be accepted:
"The need to guaruntee the girls are virgins when they marry."
"To secure alliances between families and consolidate the two familiy's wealth."
"To see the children married and established with families- due in part to low life expectancy-40's"
"If girls remain single beyond an accepted age in the community the family can be labeled as outcasts with an "unwanted" woman"
-What struck me about all these reasons (except for the last one)is that they are all valid reasons for concern. But chid marriage is not the solution!
-Telarge, Is that last reason for child marriage true from your experience or what you've heard?
In certain tribes, if the girl is not married by a certain age, will the family be labeled as social outcasts?
More to come. Lisa
Sorry for the possibly ignorant question, but just want to make sure here, is the real term for the procedure we are talking about "Clitoridectomy"?
--Rob
Oh, one more thing. I could use some Ethiopan music for the Power Point
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