As you might have read in Mercury News, Newsweek and other news outlets, more than 20 forced and child marriage survivors, activists and allies joined us in San Jose last Thursday to chain-in outside Asm. Ash Kalra’s office, in bridal gowns and chains.
Our message to Kalra was clear: Stop holding up AB2924, the widely popular bill to end child marriage in California and eliminate a human rights abuse that destroys girls’ lives.
Forced and child marriage survivors from California and across the United States joined us to share their personal stories and to chant and sing in protest against child marriage. We were joined, as well, by allies from the California Coalition to End Child Marriage, including several members of Zonta International.
We at Unchained started and now lead a growing national movement to end child marriage in the United States by making the marriage age 18, no exceptions, in all 50 states. One of the many ways we advocate for change is by hosting Chain-Ins like this. Read more here about this form of peaceful protest we invented.
Child marriage is an urgent problem in California. Dangerous legal loopholes allow parents to enter a child of ANY AGE into marriage with judicial approval — without any real legal recourse for a child who does not want to marry. And U.S. census data shows that more than 8,000 children (mostly girls) in California are entered into marriage every year — often with devastating, lifelong consequences. All of these marriages legalized what would have been considered a sex crime outside of marriage.
Marriage before 18 can too easily be forced, because minors, even a day before their 18th birthday, have limited legal rights that make resisting or escaping an unwanted marriage nearly impossible. Further, marriage before 18 is a human rights abuse that destroys American girls’ health, education and economic opportunities and greatly increases their risk of experiencing violence.
Let’s continue pushing. Contact Kalra now to remind him that girls matter, and then see other ways you can get involved.
