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Can you help end child marriage in New York?
If you are a New Yorker who cares about women's rights and human rights I hope you'll take a very quick moment to send a letter to your legislator through the link below.
Here's a thread about why it is urgent and important... https://twitter.com/UnchainedAtLast/status/1294646530650132482
If you are a New Yorker who cares about women's rights and human rights I hope you'll take a very quick moment to send a letter to your legislator through the link below.
Here's a thread about why it is urgent and important... https://twitter.com/UnchainedAtLast/status/1294646530650132482
. @hrw has researched child marriage in countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, S Sudan, Yemen, & Zimbabwe. We know marriage before age 18 has devastating consequences for children—mostly girls—who marry, usually against their will. https://www.hrw.org/topic/womens-rights/child-marriage
As we advocated to end child marriage in these countries, we started to hear push back from govt officials that went like this: “But isn’t child marriage legal in the US? And the UK? If children there can marry, why not here?” They were absolutely right. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/07/ending-child-marriage-everywhere-including-west
Child marriage is legal in the US. And the UK. And that is shameful and harmful.
Here’s an article I wrote before Florida changed their law… https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/20/afghanistan-has-tougher-law-child-marriage-florida
Here’s an article I wrote before Florida changed their law… https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/20/afghanistan-has-tougher-law-child-marriage-florida
We realized we had to get involved. We pushed for reform in the UK. And we joined with @UnchainedAtLast and other organizations that were fighting state by state in the US for reform, at a time when child marriage was still legal in all 50 states. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/02/break-chains-child-marriage
We started in New York, where @hrw’s main office is, and where at that time, in 2016, children as young as 14 could legally marry. After months of work a new law was passed banning marriage before age 17 in New York.
But that’s not enough. Marriage at 17 is still harmful. Until you are 18, you do not have the rights you need to resist a forced marriage & to get out of a marriage that is abusive or unhappy. Ending child marriage means ending all marriage before age 18. https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage-law/
That’s why we’re taking on New York again. Since NY changed its law, four other US states—DE, NJ, PA, and MN--have gone the whole way and banned all child marriage before age 18. It’s time for NY to join them. https://www.unchainedatlast.org/5-13-2020-minnesota-just-ended-child-marriage/
That’s why we have joined @UnchainedAtLast again & a coalition of other human rights orgs in calling for NY to end child marriage completely. We need your help. Please send a letter to your legislator, and help make NY the fifth child marriage-free state. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/urge-ny-legislators-to-end-all-child-marriage
