Topic:
Country: Mexico
Delegate Name: Komal Patel
United Nations Women
Child Marriage
Mexico
Komal Patel
Forest Hills Eastern
Child marriage is a global issue fueled by gender inequality, poverty, and social norms that more than 650 million women alive today suffer direct consequences of. The rates of child marriage are declining, but progress is not happening fast enough. Ending child marriage would guarantee a more secure and prosperous future for girls suffering from marrying at a young age; UN Women is approaching a three tiered approach which includes advocating that girls at risk are supported, calling for intensification of efforts to prevent violence in these relationships, and supporting community initiatives aimed at seeking youth women leadership.
In efforts to ban child marriage, Mexico is taking preventative actions in order to ensure girls in the country a successful future with adequate education and opportunities. According to UN Women, “25 percent of Mexican women ages 50 to 54 say they married as children, while 21 percent of women 20 to 24 report the same.” Over a generation, the rates of child marriage in Mexico declined by only a small amount. To counter this minor change, Mexico banned child marriage in 2014. However, informal marriages continue to persist, leaving the rates of child marriage unaffected and making it difficult for Mexico to collect data on these relationships. According to the Borgen Project, since women’s empowerment goes hand in hand with ending child marriage, “Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education has joined the Mexican Academy of Science and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development to promote STEM in girls’ education in Mexico” as well as taking up a program called “Mujeres in STEM” to encourage more women involvement in these fields. Additionally, more women in Mexico are seeking employment and their influence in politics is increasing. These developments in women’s employment will help eliminate child marriage in Mexico.
Mexico urges UN Women to partner with the charitable organization, Mariposas, which aims to provide educational programs for young women in central Mexico communities in order to empower them to break the cycles of poverty caused by limited education opportunities and a lack of access to educational services. Through this partnership, child marriage in Mexico would be reduced by increasing women’s access to education. Because poverty is a major cause of disadvantaged girls marrying as children, Mexico recommends UN Women to work alongside Mexico Child Link Trust to provide sustainable housing for children in Mexico in order to reduce child poverty and ultimately counter child marriage. Through these preventative actions, a prosperous and educational future for girls vulnerable to child marriage is attainable.
