Lebanese activists fight against child marriage with videos
Lebanese nongovernmental organizations and artists use videos to create awareness of the risks of early marriage, which affects 6% of all girls in Lebanon.
People with grim faces and black clothing stand in line as they wait their turn to shake hands in a video called “A Wedding or a Funeral” posted by Kafa (Enough), a Lebanese feminist nongovernmental organization (NGO). Toward the very end, a glimpse of a child bride is seen near the adult groom. The message is clear: Marrying a child is burying her dreams, her hopes and ambitions. It is not a wedding party, but the funeral of a girl’s future.
The video is part of the new campaign by the same name launched by Kafa on July 10, and it continues the organization's efforts that started in 2015 to end early marriage.
Around 6% of girls in Lebanon are married before their 18th birthday, according to UNICEF data. The numbers have increased with the massive arrival of Syrian refugees in the country.
Kafa’s “Raise the Age” national campaign aims to push the parliament to pass a new law that prohibits women from being married before they turn 18. The NGO also seeks the removal of two penal code articles. One, Article 505, allows rapists to marry their underage victims and the other, Article 522, allows rapists to escape penalties if they marry the victim.
