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The United Nations and the National Commission for Lebanese Women launched a joint 16-day campaign Sunday to end child marriage and raise awareness on gender equality, according to a statement from the U.N.
The campaign begins on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women marked Sunday and runs until Dec. 10, on social media platforms using the hashtag #Bakirr3laya (“It’s too early for her”). Ads will also be run on local TV channels, radio stations and billboards in areas across Lebanon, to raise awareness on the consequences of child marriage and advocate for passing a law that sets a minimum female marriage age at 18.
“The continued acceptance of child marriage and the fact that the law does not enforce a minimum age for marriage is further evidence to the failure of the legislation to keep up with changes in the status of women and the roles they play in society,” NCLW president Claudine Aoun Roukoz was quoted as saying in the statement.
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Pernille Dahler Kardel said the she encourages Lebanese legislators "to enact and uphold laws that would eliminate child marriage in Lebanon. This would be an important step towards ending this harmful practice, protecting the rights of children and ensuring the overall wellbeing of society.”
During the campaign period, the presidential palace, NCLW’s headquarters and Baalbek Temple will be lit up in orange as part of the U.N.-led “Orange the World” initiative for the elimination of violence against women and child marriage.
According to the U.N. statement, there are currently an estimated 650 million women worldwide who were married as children, and unless action is taken against the practice, an additional 150 million girls are likely to marry by 2030.
The 16-day campaign is also part of the first Women's Global Leadership Institute campaign launched in 1991, and is supported by the UNiTE campaign formed by the United Nations Secretary General.
Source: The Daily Star
