بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
"Early Marriage" in Afghanistan or Child Prostitution in the United States?
Mrs. Ruhla Ghani which one robs childhood and future opportunities?
The government of Afghanistan tries once again to give to the Afghan Women her stolen happiness…or so they claim. On 19th of April 2017, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Culture launched a “National Action Plan to Eliminate Early and Child Marriage”. The action plan was developed in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The First Lady of Afghanistan, Rula Ghani, expressed her support for the national action plan, urging families to stop marrying their daughters early, saying: “I urge all Afghan families to avoid child and forced marriages. Your girls face a huge risk when they get married at a young age. Early marriage robs them of their childhood and future opportunities.”
Mrs. Rula Ghani,
Who determines the age from when a person is ready for the marriage?
What do you say about “Child Prostitution” in the United States? According to a new report from anti-trafficking group Shared Hope International, at least 100,000 children are used as prostitutes each year as part of the $9.8 billion U.S. sex trafficking industry, and a study by Jessica Edwards, of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, found that an estimated 650,000 American teenagers exchange sex for favors.
What do you say about “Teen Pregnancy” in the United States? In 2014 in the United States, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in this age group.
What do you say about “Children Pornography” in the United States? The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) estimates that the United States has the largest share of commercialized child pornography websites with close to 50 percent of the global volume. And there also estimates that the United States has the largest share of commercialized adult pornography websites with 50 percent of the global volume.
What do you say about “Child Abuse” in the United States? According to Child Help, the United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations, losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect.
What do you say about modern “sex education”? According to the Guardian, Ministers in the UK are to announce that sex education will become compulsory for secondary school pupils, while children as young as four will be taught about modern relationships.
Issues like this are points for concern. This miserable situation are results of “Freedom and Democracy” which brings humanity into ruin rather than early marriage of girls who according to democratic values are not adult. Therefore it is secular liberal values and the system which implements and promotes them that robs childhood and future opportunities and has a lifelong affect on children psychologically.
Islam allows marriage at a young age as well as polygamy (having 4 wives). The Shariah laws do not change with the inclinations of mankind. In the same way the Muslims' thinking should not be changed by the influence of the wrong ideologies that have arisen today.
Mrs. Ruhla Ghani should rather take care of the danger to which children are exposed by the idea of freedom and democracy. The rights of children are not truly defended by any ideology except Islam. It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to work for the reestablishment of the Caliphate upon the Method of Prophethood in order to secure real justice and dignity and to protect the Laws of Allah (swt) from the relentless mockery it faces today in the absence of the shield of Islam, the Khilafah "Caliphate".
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Amanah Abed
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir