Skip to main content

Their body, their rights that we need to protect

Because at their home country, they are not respected. Although forced and early marriage is illegal in Burkina Faso, over 52% of the girls get married before they turn 18 and 10% before 15 - according to a UNICEF report. In extreme cases, In Burkina Faso, some girls were as young as 11 when they were forced to enter into a marriage with a spouse who could be even 30 to 50 years older than the bride. 

 >> Watch Amnesty International's video.
In Burkina Faso, women and girls are far too often prevented from making other crucial decisions, such as whether or when to get pregnant. When women raise the issue of birth control with their partners, they very often suffer verbal abuse or physical violence. 
Nearly 30% of 15- to 19-year-old girls and young women in rural areas are pregnant or have had their first baby despite the risk that they are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth as those over the age of 20.
Early marriage and early pregnancy mean that very few girls have the chance to go to school or complete their education. Only 64.2% of girls in Burkina Faso can access education, but many of them are forced to give up school early to get married or to take on domestic work or other duties. 
“What is the point in sending you to school? There is no benefit from girls being educated,” recalls her parents’ retort a 16-year-old girl, who fled forced marriage, when she asked them why she couldn’t go to school.
>>TAKE ACTION! Join us in calling on the Burkinabé government to enforce the application of national laws banning forced and early marriage and make contraception free. Sign this petition. 
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The most powerful tool against repression: educating people about their rights

Former Amnesty prisoner of conscience Fred Bauma about human rights and democracy Fred Bauma about the human rights situation in the DRC (c) Amnesty International UK I could not have dreamt of anything more exciting than meeting former Amnesty prisoner of conscience Fred Bauma . Together with thousands of activists, I had been campaigning for him and his colleague Yves Makwambala for the past few years. So, I was floating on air when I heard about Fred and Yves’ release on bail in August 2016. I felt extremely honoured to be able to organise an event where Fred could meet the Amnesty UK activists who had been standing in solidarity with him. Struggle for change in the Congo On 11 March, just a few days before the anniversary of his detention in 2015, Amnesty UK hosted a speaker event with Fred Bauma. During the evening, the young Congolese activist talked about his experiences and the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Fred explained ...
Read more

Hidden from critical view: the disappeared of Cameroon

As the number of military personnel deployed to fight Boko Haram in the Far North Region of Cameroon has increased, the number of people detained without trial on suspicion of supporting the armed group has gone up, as well. Families and communities torn apart Since 2014, Cameroon’s security forces have arrested hundreds of people without charge during security operations. One man from the village of Double told us how security forces raided the village in search of suspected Boko Haram fighters: “Early in the morning, we heard gunshots and thought it was Boko Haram. We were scared and fled to the bush; then people called us to say it wasn’t Boko Haram, but the security forces, so we came back thinking we were safe. However, to our great surprise, those forces made us suffer even more than Boko Haram.” During this operation carried out in Double and in the neighbouring community, Magdeme, nine people were killed and more than 200 boys and men arbitrar...
Read more

Educating the Western youth

In a rare occasion to reach out to the West without pure condemnation, Iran’s Supreme Leader sent an important message to the American and European youth . The aim of the letter was to stress that the Islam they know is based on a forged concept and doesn’t reflect the reality. Therefore, Ayatollah Khamenei encouraged the younger generation in the West to do research and get firsthand information on the religion. www.wsj.com In his letter, Mr Khamenei asks youngsters whether they “ have directly read the Qur’an of the Muslims .” He goes on by questioning: “Have you ever received the message of Islam from any sources other than the media?” Moreover, the Iranian leader calls on the youth to ask themselves “why the old policy of spreading ‘phobia’ and hatred has targeted Islam and Muslims with an unprecedented intensity. [..] What concepts and values in Islam disturb the programs of the super powers and what interests are safeguarded in the shadow of distorting the image of Islam...
Read more