The consequences of early marriage on the girl child are physical, intellectual, psychological, emotional and mental. In addition, early marriage among girls is almost always synonymous with pregnancy, which is the cause of high levels of maternal mortality and premature deliveries, as well as a life of domestic and sexual enslavement in which they have no power. The costs of dealing with the consequences of early marriage are borne by society.
In view of this situation, the international community has incorporated the problem of early marriage into the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Subsequently, the Convention inspired the Government of Côte d'Ivoire to adopt the 1998 Act on Early Marriage in the country. Failure to comply with the Act attracts criminal penalties and the nullity of the union.
The United Nations has set aside 11 October each year as the International Day of the Girl Child. The theme chosen for the inaugural year, 2012, was early marriage. To this end, UNFPA Côte d'Ivoire would like to share this comic strip that tells the story of Safia, who married at the age of 16 and whose childbirth-related complications resulted in a fistula. UNFPA works to eradicate fistula and to treat the thousands of women affected each year.
