Imagine you’re a young girl in school and you’ve just received the results of a tough exam. You’ve done really well and you can’t wait to tell your parents. But as soon as you find them, you know something is wrong. You can see it in their eyes. And then you find out: they’ve arranged for you to get married to a man twice your age because they just can’t afford to look after you anymore.
This is the story of Rubi from Bangladesh who saw her life turned upside down in an instant, pushed into marriage at just 15 years old. It was a horrifying situation, but rather than simply going along the path her parents had decided for her, Rubi did somethingcourageous and remarkable: she fought back.
Rubi knew the statistics. She knew that 64% of women in Bangladesh aged 20-24 got married before they were 18, which is illegal, although laws are often not followed. She also knew that getting married would mean the end of the schooling she so cherished. She’d have to drop out, leave her friends behind and focus on starting a family.
Rubi knew all of this because she had been part of a local child forum set up by Plan International and local partner organisation Shomaj Unnoyon Proshikkhan Kendro. There, she had learnt all about child marriage and her rights - never imagining that she herself would be part of the story.
Birth certificate key
With support from the leaders of the child forum and the chairman of her local council, Rubi was able to call on the ace up her sleeve: her birth certificate.
Rubi was able to prove that she was just 15 years old - giving her the leeway needed to convince her parents that this was not the right time to get married and that doing so would be illegal.
That simple piece of paper, giving Rubi the ability to prove her age, is a prime example of how birth registration can play a significant role in reducing child marriage.
Girls' education and freedom
Of course, birth registration alone isn’t going to stop child marriage, but it is the first step towards a legal identity and recognition of a girl’s relationship with the state. That recognition is what paves the way for girls and young women to access the education and freedom they need to be able to succeed in life and take control of their futures.
Having a legal identity means you can vote, get an education, sign contracts, get a job in the formal sector and protect against rights abuses like human trafficking and child marriage.
Registration of births, as well as other key life events, is also vital for governments to be able to monitor and respond to issues like maternal mortality, unsafe abortion and teen pregnancy.
Basic tasks suddenly become more difficult without a form of legal identity. For girls and women, this only compounds an array of already existing issues that are pushing girls and women into the periphery.
Invisible children
Some 135 million children in Asia-Pacific have not had their births registered. While this number is split fairly evenly between male and female, we have to take into account that young girls and women already have to break down significant barriers just to be treated equally. If they are not registered, the barriers to participation become even more prominent.
Some 135 million children in Asia-Pacific have not had their births registered.
Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) – the registration and analysis of all major life events, like births, deaths and marriages - is a cross-cutting issue that compounds challenges faced by girls and young women who are already marginalised and excluded from society.
Looking at CRVS through a gender lens is crucial. Empowered girls can change the world – literally. Just 1 extra year of schooling means a girl will earn up to 25% more income. Yet if we don’t treat CRVS as a tool for female empowerment, we do a disservice to all those girls and women who have dreams and aspirations.
Well-functioning and trustworthy CRVS systems are the building blocks of inclusive and just societies that uphold rights, good governance and the rule of law. The weak state of CRVS systems has been described as a “scandal of invisibility” that is further excluding already marginalised groups.
Asia and Pacific conference
The spotlight is now being placed on the invisible people of this world to give this issue the urgent attention it deserves. From 24-28 November in Bangkok, UNESCAP and partners are convening the first Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific*.
For the past 9 months, we have been working with the United Nations and governments to develop a Regional Action Framework that will pave the way for a decade of CRVS and help us ensure that by 2024, every birth, death, marriage and other life event is registered.
It’s time to get everyone in the picture, but we can’t ignore the challenges already faced by girls like Rubi and the millions of others who have to make hard choices early on in life.
Read more about Plan International's work on birth registration
*Plan is not responsible for the content on external websites.
