Campaign ‘After 18’, to combat the early marriage of girls.

The Women’s and Girls’ Rights Program at Association Najdeh, in cooperation with Norwegian People’s Aid, launched its campaign #After_18 to combat early marriage of girls. After an opinion poll on the phenomenon of early marriage of social initiatives, the results of the survey showed that 86% of participants believe that the appropriate age for marriage is 18 years and above, and there is also 78% of society that disagrees with the phenomenon of early marriage.

However, the lack of adequate laws, practises and mechanisms constitute a deterrent to protecting girls from this phenomenon. One of the most prominent recommendations is the need to raise community awareness, especially among parents and girls.

Child marriage deprives girls of their childhood and threatens their lives and health. Girls who marry before the age of 18 are more likely to be victims of domestic violence and less likely to stay in school. They also suffer from worse economic livelihood and health problems than their unmarried peers, which become genetically inheritable eventually going to their children. This Project falls within the main framework of social initiatives within empowering women to participate in political and public life project continuously prevailing that WOMEN CAN DO IT.