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The Effects of Early Marriage

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Submitted By StaceyChia
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In the poem, "Betrothal in B Minor," it implies that marriage is a war and a struggle in life. Getting married before the age of eighteen would be a huge struggle for the girl. In many countries, young girls between the ages of seven and fifteen are often married to older men by the force of their families. During this marriage, girls face extreme hardships including the lack of education, emotional adversity, and poor social skills.

The emotional and social effects of early marriage are varied, but one of the most common outcomes is the withdrawal of girls from formal education. When a girl reaches the age around ten, her parents have already arranged a wedding for her and have taken her out of school to prepare the girl to be wed and to have children. At the age of ten a girl is not fully matured, nor is she well educated.

Education is one of the largest losses to a girl if she is married young. Not having a full education like other children brings many hardships to the girl. Taking a girl away from school to marry and to have children limits her opportunities to develop as an individual. After getting married and having a child, a lot of times the girl will want to go back to school to further her education, but most schools will refuse to take in a girl if she is married or has a child. These girls that now have a family at a young age, have to work to earn a living, but since they are denied an education, they are not qualified for most jobs that are available around them.

Not only does a girl lose her education, but she also experiences an emotional adversity. From the point of birth, girls are made to think that their only job in life is to get married and to have children. Being forced to marry someone can often create unhappiness in both the male and female. If they are unhappy with each other then the relationship can turn in to an abusive

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