According to the global organisation ‘Girls Not Brides’, 13.5 million girls were married before they turned 18 in 2010 and an estimated 15.4 million girls a year will marry as children by 2030 if nothing is done. In an attempt to raise awareness on the occasion of the United Nation’s International Day of the Girl Child, Plan Norway set up a wedding blog, where 12-year-old Thea shared her day-to-day experience of being a child bride to-be up until the day of her wedding. The hashtag #StopTheWedding spread across social media sites and the protest reached out to more than 3.5 million people.
The focus of this week’s debate is on child marriage and the urgent need to put an end to it.
These are the statements to be debated:
• Giving girls an education is the most important investment that can be made to fight world poverty.
• Education is a fundamental solution to the problem as girls who are educated marry later.
• Leadership, persistence and global cooperation is vital to save the girls from becoming child brides.
Participants will be required to clearly state whether they are ‘for’ or ‘against’ the statement and provide their supporting arguments for the same.
If you would like to participate, send us a request at readers@gulfnews.com
