Too Young To Wed Essay Example

The documentary Too young to wed deals with the issue of child marriage in the Asia and Africa. The tradition to marry young girls is a part of their culture and has been practiced for centuries. However, it should not be used as an excuse. Instead of enjoying in childhood, playing and educating, girls are confined to sexual and physical abuse by their husbands, their family, and the girls carry a burden of delivering children and raising them. In this way, the cycle of early marriage continues.
The first emotional reaction to the documentary is empathy and grief for these children who are forced into the world of adulthood despite their will. It is unfair for a child to be forced in a marriage just because it is the way the things are done in this part of the world. The fear that these young girls have is so big that they chose to set themselves on fire just because they did not do correctly some unimportant thing or because they accidentally broke something. Another important aspect is lack of schools. Every child is entitled for at least elementary education and the cultures that practice early marriage lack of educational system. As Stephanie Sinclair says that the education is the key for decreasing underage marriage (Too young to wed). At the beginning of the third millennium, when the civilization advancement has reached its peak, there are still parts of the world where an elementary education is out of reach. Every child is entitled for a carless childhood, regardless of the part of the world.
The images of children forced into marriage will haunt me as well. These girls are not aware of the gloom future that awaits them, the sleepy eyes filled with bewilderment are pleading for one more day of childhood. There are also many other articles and documentaries that research this topic and try to understand the cultures where the practice of underage marriage exist. One of such articles is the article published in The Guardian, "After the wedding fear set in: a Yemeni child bride's story" written by Nabila Ramdani. This story depicts the struggle of a young woman who was married at the age of 11 and continually abused by her husband.

Cited works:

Too young to wed by Sinclair, Stephanie and Gorney, Cynthia. Web. 3. February 2015. http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/sinclairgorney-lecture-nglive
Ramdani, Nabila. "After the wedding fear set in: a Yemeni child bride's story". The Guardian. 1. October 2013. Web. 3. February 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/01/story-yemen-child-bride