Forced Marriage

Dear Friend,

Hundreds of CARE supporters are flying to our nation's capital to join me at the 2010 CARE National Conference and Celebration. While we're in Washington, we'll meet with Congressional leaders to ask them to tackle issues that prevent millions of poor women and girls from reaching their full potential.

One such issue is child marriage. Will you stand with us to bring an end to this harmful practice?

Right now, there are 60 million girls who have been forced into marriage. Marrying at a young age has lifelong - and often grim - consequences for child brides. Qaballe was destined to be one of these girls, but she overcame the odds thanks to CARE.


When she was only 10, Qaballe's family in Ethiopia made a deal to sell her to a 34-year-old man in the hope of creating a relationship with a wealthy family. Qaballe refused. By chance, she met a CARE-trained peer educator who helped Qaballe apply to have her marriage cancelled. After much discussion, local leaders pulled together to help the child stop her marriage. However, 25,000 girls a day aren't as fortunate as Qaballe.

Child marriage is a major barrier to escaping poverty. That's why we need you to ask your representatives today to co-sponsor the bipartisan International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (H.R. 2103/S. 987). This legislation will recognize child marriage as a human rights violation and make our efforts to combat child marriage more successful and effective.

After Qaballe was able to prevent her marriage, she and her family - and eventually their whole community - participated in discussions about child marriage. The community came to see it as a harmful practice and realized there were alternative solutions to escaping poverty, such as education. "Now I am free and feel comfortable. I will continue in school and I want to be a doctor in the future," said Qaballe.

I am heartened that Qaballe's family and community were inspired to abandon the practice of child marriage. But more needs to be done for thousands of other girls forced to marry before they get an education and the chance to mature.

Won't you join me and hundreds of CARE supporters in asking members of Congress to protect the rights of girls everywhere by co-sponsoring the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act?

Together, we can send a clear message to our elected leaders that preventing child marriage needs to be a priority in U.S. foreign policy if we are to overcome poverty around the world.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE

P.S. Don't miss U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton deliver the keynote speech at CARE's 2010 National Conference and Celebration tomorrow starting around 11:30 a.m. ET. Click here to watch Secretary Clinton live tomorrow morning.