The delegation of the European Union has recently stated that combating child marriage and gender-based violence requires a change in attitudes.
The EU’s humanitarian aid and civil protection department wrote yesterday (Sunday, February 16) in a post on its X account that men must also be part of changing attitudes toward child marriage.
Quoting one of its volunteer partners in Bangladesh, the European Union stated that marriage under the age of 18 is physically and psychologically harmful for girls.
Underage and forced marriages claim many victims in less-developed countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
It is worth noting that although underage and forced marriages have existed in Afghanistan in the past, they have intensified over the past four years, particularly following the ban on girls’ education.
Due to poverty, some families in Afghanistan force their daughters into marriage before reaching the legal age and without their consent.
It should also be noted that after taking control of Afghanistan, the current authorities deprived women and girls of education. In their most recent restriction, they closed the doors of medical institutes to girls and women, despite the fact that the healthcare sector across Afghanistan is facing a shortage of personnel.
This action by the current authorities has left millions of schoolgirls deprived of education.
In addition, women have been banned from going to gyms, restaurants, and public bathhouses; from being examined by male doctors; from traveling without a male guardian (mahram); and from working in domestic and international non-governmental organizations, as well as even in United Nations offices in Afghanistan.
