"I will not allow my daughter to get married at an early age, I do want her to be deprived of her rights, I want her to avoid what I went through," one of the women attending the event "I am Still Very Young" stated.
The event was jointly organized by the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD) and the United Nations Population Fund- Syria (UNFPA) in Aman Center, Aleppo City to raise awareness toward the ramifications of early marriage.
200 women and adolescent girls attended the event and enjoyed diversified activities and shows, including a play narrating the story of a girl who suffered a lot marrying at an early age, act- sing sketches about the different types of violence women face during their life stages, and a presentation about the causes and negative effects of child marriage, as well as many awareness raising sessions.
Early marriage is a very important issue, especially in our beloved country, where there are still many families that give away their daughters for marriage at a very young age. Reasons that drive these families to do such a thing include customs and traditions, as well as socio-economic reasons.
Therefore, SSSD, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), implemented a campaign entitled “A Child is Raising Another”, as part of the GBV programme at Al-Hosn Community Center in Al-Hosn, Homs. The aim of this campaign was to stop the spreading of such a dangerous phenomenon.
Target groups included women, men, and adolescent boys and girls from both the local and internally displaced communities, as well as returnees.
The campaign included the active participation of adolescents of the Child Protection Club, who presented silent expressive plays in hopes of raising awareness of the negative effects of early marriage. This phenomenon is actually regarded as a form of violence against girls, due to the burdens and responsibilities they are forced to carry at an age where they are expected to play and learn, as they are neither psychologically nor physically capable of carrying such burdens and responsibilities.
Attendees reacted positively during the campaign, emphasizing the important principles that were presented. Furthermore, one of the adolescent girls said at the end of the campaign: “Our body is still too fragile to carry such responsibilities… “
One of the fathers also added: “It is unacceptable to give our children away for marriage at a young age! In my opinion, the right age for marriage is 25 years for women and 30 for men. It is just sad and wrong for a child to marry another, not to mention a child actually having to raise another!”