On October 30th I attended UNFPA’s State of the World Population 2013 Launch: Facing the Challenge of Adolescent Pregnancy. The focus of this event was on empowering girls and giving girls agency, especially in reproductive health. The particular topic was adolescent pregnancy, and 90% of adolescent pregnancies occur within marriage. I was surprised by this, since adolescent pregnancy in the US is a phenomenon that mostly occurs out of wedlock. In the presentation, they talked about the status of women and the large gender inequality that exists that is the cause for adolescent pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy is a problem because for girls it generally means the end of education, they are more likely to be impoverished, and includes new health concerns. “About 70,000 adolescents in developing countries die annually of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth” according the World Population Report.
Like I have stated, 90% of adolescent pregnancies occur in marriage. This means that most girls who get married in their adolescent years have no say in whether they want to get married, who they are to marry, and what future goals and dreams they have for themselves. It is evident the injustice that exists within the structure of child marriage. However, while this seems evident, I did notice a slight paradox. At the UNFPA’s presentation, the emphasis was on the necessity for access to reproductive services. They claimed that these services are the means for a girl’s autonomy, but push aside the actually problem of child marriage! They say they want a women to have agency over when she has children, but the root cause of adolescent pregnancy is not access to services. Regardless of the opinions on contraception, it is clear that having access to contraception and even abortion does not eliminate the problem, it only masks the symptoms! The true autonomy of the person begins with their freedom. In a child marriage, the consent of the woman does not matter. Early marriage for many girls becomes a sort of slavery.
If early marriage is the real problem, and adolescent pregnancy is only a consequence of this; why isn’t the UNFPA’s main priority on eliminating child marriage? In Kenya, by promoting education through programs that make education more affordable, such as donating uniforms or cash incentives, the pregnancy rate dropped by 17%[i]! This statistic is also correlated to age at marriage. The study says “education continues to be the single most important predictor of age at marriage over time.[ii]” I think it is clear that if we really care about these issues, we will go to the root of them in order to eliminate injustice, rather than just treat a symptom.
[i] p. 58 UNFPA State of the World Population 2013 “Motherhood in Childhood:Facing the Challenges of Adolescent Pregnancy.”
[ii] p. 60 UNFPA State of the World Population 2013 “Motherhood in Childhood:Facing the Challenges of Adolescent Pregnancy.”
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