1.

The Causes, Consequences and Solutions to Forced Child Marriage- by

Anju Malhotra

Forced child marriage is a life-changing reality for many of the world’s girls. Some as
young as 8 or 9 are forced to trade their childhoods for a life that can be defined by
isolation, violence and illness. It is a practice rooted more in tradition than religious
custom, and one that spans the globe, from Asia to Africa to the Americas. The
number of girls who are married as children is astounding. According to UNICEF, in
2007 more than more than 60 million girls aged 20-24 worldwide had married before
their 18th birthday.1 If current trends continue, an additional 100 million girls – or
25,000-30,000 girls every day -- will become child brides over the next decade.2
While boys are subjected to early marriage, most child marriages involve girls. For
instance, in Mali the ratio of girls ages 15-19 who were married as children compared
to boys, is 72 to one, and in El Salvador it is six to one.3
2. Child Marriages in India An insight into Law and Policy- by Ashay Abbhi,
Kirthi Jayakumar, Manasa Ram Raj, Ramya Padmanabhan
Child marriage in India continues to thrive by and large in the rural areas more than
elsewhere in the country. The factors that encourage its subsistence are usually a
combination of poverty, the lack of education, continued perpetration of patriarchal
relations that encourage and facilitate gender inequalities, and cultural perspectives
that encourage the phenomenon to thrive.

3. The Adopted Child and Intrafamily Marriage Prohibitions- by Walter J. III

Wadlington

The adoption rate in US has been rising since World War II. Children adopted as
infants shortly after the War are now near or have attained marriageable age. The
need for clarifying their familial status is thus particularly great at this time and it is a
Problem, which will continue to increase during the next few years. Clearly the matter
should be considered by state legislatures without further delay.