12mn girls married before age of 18 worldwide annually

KABUL (Pajhwok): Twelve million girls a year are married before the age of 18 and this put their health and education opportunity at risk, the US embassy in Kabul said on Friday.

Marking the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, It said that child and forced marriages  were human rights abuse and a form of Gender Based Violence which must be stopped.

On its Twitter handle the embassy wrote:  “12 million girls a year are married before the age of 18 – that’s 23 girls every minute whose health, education, and opportunities are at risk. Child, early, and forced marriage is a human rights abuse and form of #GBV that must end #16DaysOfActivism.”

After regime change in Afghanistan, the acting government issued a decree last year in November regarding women rights.

The decree said that the consent of adult girls was necessary before their marriage — knot— the decree also said that nobody could force a woman for marriage.

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