The “Sudanese Women against Violence” Initiative Expresses Concern over the Increasing Number of Girls Child Marriage

The “Sudanese Women against Violence” Initiative Expresses Concern over the Increasing Number of Girls Child Marriage

Khartoum, 11 March 2017

The “Sudanese Women against Violence” Initiative has expressed concern over the increasing number of girls entering into child marriages in Sudan, referring to the marriage of an 11-year old girl in one of the states of Sudan this past February.

The initiative called on Sudanese society to abandon this deliberate violation of children’s rights. The statement stressed that Sudanese don’t abide by the law and fail to apply it. Evidence of this is the continuing marriage of girls under the age of 18 which is considered violence.

The statement also called for Sudanese families to ensure the wellbeing of their daughters and not to pressure or force them into marriages on the pretext of economic circumstances and harmful norms.

The statement also demanded punishing those who commit such crimes; and appealed to organizations and initiatives that are active in fields of protection of women and children to raise the awareness of communities in both cities and rural areas of the risks of child marriage and to protect children from its harms