Write your goals for this year both academically and personally. What kinds of support would you need to achieve those goals (financial, emotional, time, etc)?
Pretend you are about to be forced into child marriage at your current age. Describe the possible thoughts and feelings you have when your parents tell you. What are you worried about? Afraid of? Guiding questions: How are you being educated now? How might that change if you are forced to marry? Where are you living now, and with whom? How might that change if you are forced to marry? What are your roles and responsibilities now? How might that change if you are forced to marry? Discuss your feelings for your parents as they are planning to have you married. In what ways might they be complicated?
We learned that one Sustainable Development Goal was gender equality. Why do you think child marriage is included as part of the Sustainable Development Goals?
Step 2
As you watch the following video answer the following quesions:
What does the video say about the value of children? Girls?
Why do you think she is bruised?
Why do you think she has a bar code?
Why would a society uphold such a practice?
Step 3
Using the report on Child Marriage from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), answer the following questions:
Where does child marriage happen most?
What are the major factors that contribute to its prevalence?
How do economics impact the problem of child marriage?
How do cultural norms impact child marriage?
What is the toll of child marriage on a society?
What are the ways in which the global community has tried to stop child marriage?
How does the CFR information guide align with the SDG 5 targets?
Step 4
Using the information from the linked maps (girls not brides and women stats), answer the following questions:
What new information does it present? (compare and contrast two countries)
To what extent do the maps reveal commonalities between countries in which child marriage presents a huge problem?
Can you identify any patterns that emerge across the maps? (What might be the causes for child marriage?)
What additional questions about child marriage come to mind as you look at these maps?
How might you reduce the number of child marriages?
Step 5
Examine one story from the girls not brides website answering the following questions:
Who is the story about?
How old was the bride?
What were the circumstances of her child marriage?
How did her life change as the result?
What is the impact of child marriage on girls, their families and communities?