11 Oct 2012

UN / CHILD MARRIAGE

As the UN today (11 October) marked the first "International Day of the Girl Child" with calls for the end of child marriage, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also joined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in denouncing the Taliban's "abhorrent and cowardly" attack on Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yusufzai. UNTV / FILE

Posted at: October 11, 2012 6:10 pm

Duration: 03:37

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UN / CHILD MARRIAGE
TRT: 3.37
SOURCE: UNTV / UNICEF / UNFPA / UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 11 OCTOBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – UNTV – 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

UNTV – 11 OCTOBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon greeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu
3. Med shot, head of UN Women Michelle Bachelet and youth activist Gaicha Salmatou Agali from Niger
4. Wide shot, conference room 
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
"She [Malala Yusufzai] is truly courageous - determined not to be silenced even as she knew the very real risks of speaking her mind. The attack on her was abhorrent and cowardly.  The terrorists showed what frightens them most: a girl with a book. Nowhere in the world should it be an act of bravery for a young girl to go to school."
6. Wide shot, Gaicha Salmatou Agali, Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson at press conference
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chair of The Elders:
"I can't imagine how anyone would be able to justify maiming a child, for what might be regarded as sort of political reasons, that they want women to remain subjugated. And really to not realise just how much we are losing."
9. Med shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chair of The Elders:
"These children who have to sleep with old men, don't even know what they're going to be doing in bed. And it is vicious. And please be committed and say that this is something we want to end. It is a cruelty."
11. Med shot, journalists
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary Robinson, Member of The Elders:
"It is so significant and so symbolic and so important for girls in Niger, for girls around the world, that they are suddenly the centre of attention, important, important in their families, and in their communities, and in the future of their communities."
13. Wide shot, journalists

FILE – UNFPA – DATE UNKNOWN, BANGLADESH

14. Wide shot, 14-year old girl with her husband
15. Med shot, 14-year old girl holding her son

FILE – UNICEF – MAY 2010, MARADI / ZINDER PROVINCES, NIGER

14. Various shots, 15-year old girl who has just found out she will be married 
15. Med shot, men talking
16. Med shot, a 15-year old married girl and her mother talking to a social worker
17. Close up, girl crying

FILE – UNICEF – 22 JANUARY 2011, SALEWALA, PAKISTAN
 
18. Wide shot, girls sitting outside on the ground with faces covered at a UNICEF Child Friendly Centre
19. Med shot, four child brides
20. Close up, child bride 
21. Close up, child bride's eyes
22. Med shot, child brides sitting in a row
23. Med shot, 17-year old mother of two with one of her children

FILE – UNICEF – 6-12 OCTOBER 2009, RAJASTHAN, INDIA

24. Med shot, girl who was married at age 13 tending a fire in her house

FILE – UNICEF – 3 APRIL 2012, HABIBULLAH, PAKISTAN

25. Med shot, girl children arriving at school
26. Various shots, girl children at school

FILE – UNDP – RECENT, BURAO, SOMALIA

27. Various shots, girl students in class

STORYLINE:

On the first International Day of the Girl Child, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was joined today (11 October) by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in denouncing the Taliban's "abhorrent and cowardly" attack on Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yusufzai.

Speaking at an event on the International Day of the Girl Child at UN headquarters, attended by senior UN officials, members of the group of Elders, and youth activists, Ban said Yusufzai was an inspiring, "truly courageous" young woman. He said "the terrorists showed what frightens them most: a girl with a book". He called for unity in countering such extremism in Pakistan and elsewhere, because "nowhere in the world should it be an act of bravery for a young girl to go to school".

At a press conference on at UN headquarters on the Day of the Girl Child, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he was "devastated" by the attack, and couldn't imagine how anyone could "justify maiming a child, for what might be regarded as sort of political reasons, that they want women to remain subjugated".

The International Day of the Girl Child was designated as 11 October by a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2011, to recognize girls' rights and highlight the unique challenges girls face worldwide. The theme of this year's observance is 'Ending Child Marriage.'

Tutu said it was "stupid" to "shove aside" fifty percent of the population, and conveyed the group of Elders' call to end the practice of child marriage by 2030. The Elders is an independent group of global leaders, chaired by Tutu, who work together for peace and human rights.

Holding up a new report released today by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Tutu pointed to the girl on the title photo and said she was merely a "baby", but children like her were being forced to "sleep with old men". This was "vicious" and "a cruelty" that had to end.

Former Irish President and Elders member Mary Robinson said it was "so significant and so symbolic and so important" that the new International Day was putting girls, for example in Niger where the rate of child marriage is one of the highest in the world, in the spotlight.

Approximately 70 million young women today were married before age 18, according to the UN, which notes that child marriage denies a girl her childhood, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities, increases her risk of being a victim of violence and abuse, and jeopardizes her health.

If current trends continue, the number of girl child marriages will increase dramatically over the next 10 years, according to the new UNFPA report 'Marrying too Young: End Child Marriage'.

The report calls on governments and leaders to end child marriage by: enacting and enforcing national laws that raise the age of marriage to 18, for both girls and boys; using data to identify and target geographic "hotspots," which have high numbers of girls at risk of child marriage; expanding prevention programmes that empower girls at risk of child marriage and address the root causes underlying the practice; and mitigating the harmful impact of child marriage on girls.

UNICEF notes that child marriage often results in early and unwanted pregnancies, posing life-threatening risks for girls. In developing countries, 90 per cent of births to adolescents aged 15-19 are to married girls, and pregnancy-related complications are the leading cause of death for girls in this age group.

Girls with low levels of schooling are more likely to be married early, and child marriage has been shown to almost always end a girl's education. Conversely, girls with secondary schooling are up to six times less likely to marry as children, making education one of the most effective ways of combating child marriage.

Building on its ongoing work to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA has announced that it will invest an additional $20 million over the next five years to reach the most marginalized adolescent girls in 12 countries with high rates of child marriage. The countries to be focused on include Guatemala, India, Niger and Zambia.