Female Subordination Starts at Home: Consequences of Young Marriage and Proposed Solutions
![handle is hein.journals/regjil5 and id is 303 raw text is: FEMALE SUBORDINATION STARTS AT HOME:
CONSEQUENCES OF YOUNG MARRIAGE AND
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Laura Davids*
Takia: age 12, married at 9 in Niger. Because Takia's father
is very poor, he believed the only way he could guarantee
a secure future for his daughters was to find husbands for
them to marry at a young age. One day my father told me
that I was to be married. I was never asked if I loved him or
not. But it was my duty to respect the decision of my par-
ents. Representatives from the local youth organization
say Takia's husband is 45 or 50. He promised-and
waited-until Takia was 11 before consummating the mar-
riage. She became pregnant soon after, and gave birth at 11,
at home, to a daughter, Layla. I
Unfortunately, young marriage is not uncommon for children in
developing countries. Although most prevalent in Africa and South
Asia,2 child marriage continues to achieve widespread acceptance and
practice despite multiple laws prohibiting such unions.3 Currently, an
estimated one-third of women in the developing world marry before
* Candidate for Juris Doctor 2008, Regent University School of Law; Bachelors
of Science 2005, Calvin College. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge
Jesus Christ for being the supreme advocate for children's rights (Luke 18:16). In
addition, I appreciate the efforts of Professor Lynne Marie Kohm for her encour-
agement and insights in drafting this article.
I International Center for Research on Women, Too Young to Wed.: Child
Marriage in Their Own Words, http://www.icrw.org/photoessay/html/shadowssubs/
takia.htm [hereinafter Too Young to Wed] (last visited Dec. 19, 2006).
2 Sanyukta Marthur, Margaret Greene, & Anju Malhotra, Too Young to Wed:
The Lives, Rights, and Health of Young Married Girls, 1-2 (2003), http://www.
icrw.org/docs/tooyoungtowed_ 1003.pdf (last visited Dec. 19, 2006).
3 United Nations Children's Fund, Early Marriage: Child Spouses, INNo-
CENTI DIGEST No. 7, 4-5, 7 (March 2001), available at http://www.unicef-icdc.
org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf [hereinafter Early Marriage: Child Spouses]; see
infra Section III (last visited Dec. 19, 2006).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/regjil5&div=13&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
Female Subordination Starts at Home: Consequences of Young Marriage and Proposed Solutions
Female Subordination Starts at Home: Consequences of Young Marriage and Proposed Solutions