Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to urge that the Senate pass S. 414, the ``Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act.'' As the Senate prepares to approve this bipartisan measure, we should take a moment to acknowledge and reflect upon the critical impact this legislation will have on the estimated 100 million girls in developing countries who are at risk of being married as children over the next decade. The harmful practice of forced child marriage often exacerbates social, economic, and political instability in the developing world, and can prohibit smooth economic and political transition. For example, Afghanistan's high female illiteracy rates and maternal mortality rates are among the most significant obstacles standing in the way of long-term progress and stability. Without ending child marriage, which remains one of the many underlying catalysts of these poor outcomes, the road ahead for women in Afghanistan will be all the more grueling. And women in Afghanistan are by no means alone in the struggle the discriminatory norms that perpetuate child marriage also prohibit full participation of women in the economic and political life in many other regions of the world. According to the United Nations Children's Fund--UNICEF--an estimated 60,000,000 girls between the ages of 20 through 24 were married before they turned 18. The Population Council estimates that the number will increase by 100 million over the next decade if current trends continue.…”