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WASHINGTON, May 18 (OneWorld.net) - Over twenty human rights and.

development organizations commended recently proposed U.S. legislation to prevent child marriage and increase educational and economic opportunities for girls in the developing world..

"It is deeply troubling that girls, little girls only nine or ten years old, are being given as child brides to men sometimes decades older, putting these girls at greater risk of contracting HIV, dying in childbirth, delivering under-weight babies, or living in extreme poverty," said U.S. Representative Betty McCollum, lead sponsor of the International Child Marriage Prevention and Assistance Act of 2009. The bill would authorize five years of U.S. foreign assistance funding to empower girls in less developed countries and address the root causes of child marriage. Today, roughly 60 million girls around the world are married and, "if current patterns continue, more than 100 million girls will be married during the next 10 years," notes the women's rights group Women Thrive Worldwide. (See Women Thrive's full statement below.).

"Promoting educational and economic opportunities for girls can reduce.

child marriage," writes the international advocacy coalition Global Action for Children. Notably, educating young girls has been pivotal in raising the age of marriage in countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand. Meanwhile, continues the organization, "working with parents and community leaders to increase these opportunities has delayed marriage for girls in parts of Kenya and Zimbabwe." Specifically, an United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) study in Zimbabwe found that "48 per cent of women who had attended primary school had been married by the age of 18, compared to 87 per cent of those who had not attended school." .

Child marriage poses numerous risks.

to young girls. Primarily, "girls younger than 15 are five times more.

likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s, and pregnancy is.

the leading cause of death worldwide for girls ages 15 to 19," says Global Action for Children. In addition, child.

brides are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS, experience abuse, and miss.

out on schooling. Child marriage is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.

and South Asia, as well as in other poor regions where families have.

few resources to.

provide for their daughters, seek the additional income given to them.

in the form of dowry, or believe the care of a male guardian will shield their child from sexual assault or pregnancy outside of marriage..

In late April, an eight-year-old Saudi Arabian girl's marriage to a man four decades her senior was annulled, inciting new hopes that the kingdom would define the legal age of marriage as 18 and increase efforts to end the practice. Currently, no Saudi laws exist regulating the age of marriage and the media has highlighted in recent months several cases of young girls being married off to significantly older men..

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U.S. CONGRESS CONSIDERS BOLD LEGISLATION TO COMBAT CHILD MARRIAGE.

From: Women Thrive Worldwide .

Bill to tackle child marriage's root causes, expand girls' opportunities..

Thursday, May 7, 2009.

More than twenty leading organizations lauded the introduction of legislation in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives to prevent child marriage in developing countries..

"It is deeply troubling that girls, little girls only nine or ten years old, are being given as child brides to men sometimes decades older, putting these girls at greater risk of contracting HIV, dying in childbirth, delivering under-weight babies or living in extreme poverty," said US Representative Betty McCollum (MN-4), the bill's lead sponsor. "The U.S. invests billions of dollars to improve the lives of people in the poorest countries. Child marriage is a horrific human rights violation that undermines that investment.".

"The manner in which a country treats women and children says a lot about its cultural and societal values," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL.), who is the lead sponsor of the Senate's bill along with lead Republican cosponsor Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). "Young teenage girls who are forced to marry face serious health risks and are often far less educated than their unmarried peers," Durbin continued. "This bill will bring this harmful practice to an end and give millions of girls around the globe hope for a better future.".

The bills authorize U.S. foreign assistance funding over five years to prevent child marriage and provide educational and economic opportunities to girls in the developing world. The policy would help ensure that the fundamental human rights of girls are protected by:.

Promoting community understanding of the practice's harmful impact;.

Requiring the State Department to report on this harmful practice in its annual Human Rights Report; and.

Scaling-up community-based efforts to offer viable alternatives to early marriage. .

Because their bodies are not yet fully developed, child brides run a very high risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Young brides are more likely to experience gender-based violence, and are highly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, particularly when their husbands are older. Most are forced to leave school when they marry, which limits their future economic opportunities and contributes to an ongoing cycle of poverty..

More than 40 leading human rights, development and health organizations supported this legislation during the 110th Congress..

For a list of supporting organizations click here. .

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