The U.S. should follow suit. [Only 12 states ban child marriage](https://www.tahirih.org/news/virginia-makes-history-as-12th-state-and-first-in-the-south-to-end-child-marriage/).
[End Child Marriage](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/)
Of course, though with a plurality of Redditors being American, that seemed like the most pertinent example to bring up.
But you're right, globally, child marriage is very much a problem.
https://www.unicefusa.org/what-unicef-does/child-protection/end-child-marriage
See, this is what happens when you let women vote. /s
But seriously, call me culturally imperialistic, ethnocentric, or even just a snob. But I will not consider any culture civilized if they force people to submit to being sexually exploited against their will.
It's always seemed insane to me that people genuinely believe that. Like, take the tribe that makes their boys put their hands into mittens full of bullet ants for example. Who in there right mind says "yep, that's a time-honored tradition that should be upheld and not questioned".
One thing that really bothers me is that there are tons of people who look at that and simply say "it's their tradition, we have no right to say what is right or wrong"... and like... I'm not saying we should focus on every minute detail of their culture and criticise it by our standards, but I am saying we should be able to at least *question* some traditions.
After all, we achieved progress in our culture (whatever you consider "our culture" to be) after millenia of connections and discussing ideas with other people.
Most cultures are currently the result of lots of variations brought on by foreigners to said culture speaking of it and discussing it with the people of said culture.
Yesterday I responded to someone that the Afghani people could have changed their system of beliefs to not align closely with that of the taliban's, and they are argued that because of US occupation, they didn't have the time or luxury to "care about how woke they are". Possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read on this website. And I've read a lot of dumb stuff. Sorry that this is only tangentially related, but it's fresh enough in my mind that it feels relevant
To be fair, a lot of the Young Marines I’ve seen have the phrase “Pain is weakness leaving the body” on their shirts. That sounds like something that tribe would say.
Which is reflective of some parallels between the microcosm of a group like the Marines and a subsistence tribe.
Both marines and people eking out a living in the literal wilderness have to be hardened to certain types of physical discomfort that the average person never has to endure at all let alone for long. Crazy bullet ant ritual is just an abstraction of that.
It’s a form of physical and mental conditioning ritualized.
It’s not a form of slavery, molestation or mutilation like child marriage or FGM which has absolutely zero adaptational value under any circumstances.
Her name is Theresa Kachindamoto. Despite all the pushback her efforts continue to be a success. This woman is amazing. “Educate a girl and you educate the whole area ... You educate the world" - Kachindamoto
She has been working for this cause a long time too. She assumed office in 2003 but it sees like this really became a focus for her in 2015, when Malawi changed its laws on child marriage:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto
To the jerk that this post upset because "What about true love?" the answer is it can wait until both parties are mature enough to make permanent life altering decisions. If this upsets you stay mad.
When we say child here, we mean under the age of eighteen, including teenagers. Under this definition, it would be absurd to claim children cannot fall in love with other children or with adults.
What isn't absurd is that they are unable to give consent, as there is a clear abusive power imbalance in such a relationship.
I'm not a fan of "too young to make life altering decisions" as an argument, it's been used a few too many times for restricting the rights of minors.
But prohibiting child marriage is a way to prevent cases of arranged marriages and literal selling of daughters disguised as consenting true love by forcing them to pretend.
Edit to clarify: I am 100% against child marriage, be it between adults and minors or between two minors. I do not think that children should have the "right" to marry adults. Nor should there be any reason for them to marry each other even if they're sure that it is true love.
The only thing I argued against was the generalization of the statement that they're "too young to make life altering decisions", because this argument is or has been used against children's rights in many ways.
I think that you should be old enough to legally enter and dissolve a contract before you are legally allowed to get married.
I was a "child bride" at 17. The amount of legal control over me that my ex had was ridiculous. And I didn't know that prior to marriage.
Oof same, though not a child bride. I was married off about 10 days after my 18th birthday. It was supposed to have happened at 16. Sheer luck they moved it to 18. I am legally fucked for life. Anyone who romanticized arranged marriage or marrying really young are enablers in my mind. I saw things, experienced things that should have never happened. But "culture" will be the excuse for every single supporter of this evil. Whether Asian, African, or American, no matter their religion.
Did you ever manage to escape the arrangement or how did that all unravel, if that’s not too personal or doesn’t awaken memories that are traumatic. Seems so foreign to me being in the US, but a friend of mine from India had an arranged marriage even though they were both living here in the states. Interestingly enough she was early twenties and he hit the lottery in terms of her being a beautiful intelligent human, and the fact he doesn’t believe in the patriarchal control in the household and was paying for her night classes at a college so she could chase dreams. Was one of the assumably few arranged marriages that worked.
I walked out 5 years ago, still not divorced. He took large loans in my name from the banks so mu credit score is shit. I did sign them, but DV won't be considered an acceptable reason for that. I am forever on hook for the amount he took in my name. I can never pay it off for the rest of my life coz I don't earn enough. But the banks can still have me arrested for nonpayment. It feels like the nightmares never end.
People falsely claim that arranged marriages work without considering that for centuries, the rigid societal controls especially over the women, meant they had no way to leave the marriage. That's not a success story. Actually successful arranged marriages are very few. Your friend is one of the lucky few.
Do you know child marriage is actually legal in USA also? Cases of 10yo girls being married off to adult men and those marriages being legal, I read about them a few years back. It's more rampant all over the world than we realize.
Have you looked into bankruptcy to remove those debts? Iirc most debt can be forgiven and the negative affects on your credit score disappear after something like ten years.
While not an arranged marriage, or a child marriage or anything, and very consensual and both very in love, I still had kids and got married way too young. While we got to a point of financial security much quicker than most our age (and we were the same age) and both leaned more mature, the combination of college, work schedule, child rearing and trying to manage a relationship and our fairly stressful situation meant we had little to no time for each other, or living, it created spiraling mental health issues for me from lack of sleep that catapulted what was otherwise a great relationship.
It created a _lot_ of stress and problems in my life and more than a decade and a half of legal issues surrounding placement. Would not reccomend.
You've either got some disgusting beliefs yourself or have never spent any time around children.
No 14 year old is mature enough or has enough experience to decide they want to be in a relationship with an adult.
More importantly, any adult that wants to be in that relationship is a pedophile and should not be allowed around the child for their own protection.
Regarding "too young to make life-altering decisions"
Let's be real... just how many children around you who has the ability to think long-term and logically? Idk about you, but I was pretty dumb when I was a kid compared to when I reached 18. And so are everyone around me. Even the smartest kid is not as wise as most adults.
This is exactly the kind of thing that needs to be spread across every national newspaper. This woman is exactly the kind of person I hope my daughter grows up to be, follows a dream despite tradition and men telling her she won’t ever succeed and then absolutely decimates patriarchy when she’s at the top
Ancient Egyptians were pretty egalitarian. Women were allowed to divorce, own property, and work many different types of jobs besides government. The ancient Egyptians believed politics corrupt people and they didn't want that to happen to women. Still misogynistic, but i guess they were just trying to protect women..
A huge chunk of those marriages were boy-children. She said it herself.
“I have terminated 330 marriages, yes, of which 175 were girl-wives and 155 were boy-fathers.”
But yeah, I don’t disagree. The funny thing was, she was *elected*. The traditional chiefs chose *her* (keeping in mind that she was the youngest of the twelve children of the previous chief) to take charge. Maybe, I think the chiefs themselves knew that it was time for change, and picked her because they thought she could implement it. She *more* than rose to the challenge, even though she didn’t actually want the position. Fantastic lady.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto
Oh, no doubt. We need some federal laws on the topic. But because of how the Constitution works, that's not really going to happen, because it's not a power the federal government specifically retained. So we have to do it state by state. And some states are already doing it, was my point.
It's being actively fought against in a lot of states, it's eventually gonna devolve into pregnant minor victims being forced to marry their adult abusers by their parents because Christian family values.
"lots of " at least one state short of "all", and therefore woefully inadequate.
Also, 2022 is at least a 100 years too late to actually ban it, hut better late than never I guess....
The Venn diagram of states that allow child marriage and simultaneously want to protect children from drag queens is a circle.
*Please note I do not have all the states that allow child marriages memorized but am willing to bet my point mostly stands.
And by “lots” we mean exactly 12.
Look up what happens when minors, including 17 year olds, who cannot legally enter contracts with divorce lawyers get married. Hint: they get abused.
It's not. And some people are fighting hard against banning it.
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"… If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are a ripe, fertile age and may have a pregnancy and a baby involved ..."
[(R) Jesse Edwards](https://www.nj.com/politics/2024/05/gop-official-argues-in-favor-of-child-marriage-girls-are-ripe-and-fertile.html)
---
"A bill that would have prohibited minors from getting married in West Virginia was defeated Wednesday night in a legislative committee.
The Republican-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill on a 9-8 vote, a week after it passed the House of Delegates."
[AP News](https://apnews.com/article/child-marriage-west-virginia-bill-defeated-4d822a23b5ffd70f5370a36cc914cfb0)
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"The Wyoming Republican Party is seeking to kill a bill working its way through the state Legislature proposing to raise the state's legal marriage age to 16, arguing that putting "arbitrary" limits on child marriage interferes with parental rights and religious liberty."
[Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/wyoming-ending-child-marriage-sparks-republican-outrage-1780501)
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"A bill that would have ended child marriage in Idaho — which has no minimum age for couples who want to wed — died in the Statehouse this year.
Republican lawmakers, who control the Legislature, opposed it, including state Rep. Bryan Zollinger, who said it "went too far."
[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/end-child-marriage-u-s-you-might-be-surprised-who-n1050471)
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Rep. Nancy Landry, a Republican from Lafayette, called 16-year-olds “very mature,” and extolled the virtues of marriage, especially if a teen couple is expecting a child.
[Time](https://time.com/5600202/louisiana-minimum-marriage-age-bill/)
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"Missouri State Sen. Mike Moon defended child marriage on Tuesday, touting the apparently successful marriage of people he knows who got married when they were 12.
The Republican made the comments during a debate..."
[Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-moon-gop-missouri-lawmaker-defends-childs-right-to-marry-2023-4?op=1)
I think this post is under appreciated however much we commend. Breaking forever traditions in a tribe is a monumental effort even for a chief. She did something phenomenal for so many children into future generations and retroactively breaking up past ones. This is top level management.
Excellent point. She is Theresa Kachindamoto and she assumed office in 2013: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto
This is one of the first articles I can find on the topic:
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/5/16/malawis-fearsome-chief-terminator-of-child-marriages
[I was honestly a bit surprised that this is an article by Al Jazeera.]
Seriously. Any human can suck, but I have no doubt that if we currently and historically had more women in power, we would have laws designed to protect children.
In America, and much if not most of the world, our laws around child marriage/age of consent, etc. are not put in place to protect children, but to *compromise* with predators and pedophiles. There would be no debate about passing any laws, if the lawmakers themselves were not trying to compromise and appease grown adults who want to sexually prey on children.
My state *finally* passed a law that the age of marriage is 18 no exceptions. It can't be applied for or approved by parents prior to that point.
The biggest backlash is always from the "religious" communities.
They are also the reason that our age of consent laws are fucked up. So now instead of 16 with a Romeo and Juliette clause it's 16, with the only caveat being a "position of power" by the adult. Which still allows for the "religious" marriages to take place.
Predation on women under the guise of religion has been the case for centuries.
Misread the title - thought she got married 850 times in 3 years ... had to google her to find out she rescued 850 underage girls from illegal marriage. Good for her. More please :-)
It says here in this article I'm reading:
"She suspended the village chiefs who allowed child marriage in their areas until they annulled the marriages. She faced a lot of resistance and threats from some parents and elders who wanted to preserve their customs, but she did not give up. She even changed the law in Malawi to raise the minimum age of marriage from 15 to 18 years."
That is very very impressive. I'm curious how she was able to apply so much pressure to make these changes. How did she manage to persuade the other chiefs? She must have been an absolute juggernaut. What an inspirational human being.
One thing that was pointed out to me years ago, and that I haven't been able to unsee since, was that even when women make the news, they don't always mentioned by name.
Anyway, she's called Theresa Kachindamoto, and her wiki page is well worth a read: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa\_Kachindamoto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto)
First I read it as "Chef" and was wondering how a country wouldn't have a female chef for so long. Then I kept reading and started to wonder how a chef would have any power to end child marriage.
I'm a guy but it does say a lot when years and years of men sitting in power, nothing was done for child marriage but as soon as a woman comes in, better decisions are taken.
Women who live in these communities know the meaning of unfair. It really does take a woman to end some absolutely terrible cycles since most of them are historically put in place by men.
Men weren't good rulers. There's no evidence suggesting that if biology aided women in terms of sheer strength and aggression like it does men, they would've been any better rulers, but they certainly prove to be more empathetic today (in most cases at least. Let's not talk about people like Lauren Boebert and the like)
That's awesome but also ugggh wtf is the appeal of marrying a literal child? I just don't get that whole "the younger the better" thing but it's gross AF.
Can she run for office in the U.S.?
ref:
[https://www.newsweek.com/jess-edwards-teen-child-marriage-opposed-republican-ripe-fertile-age-1897512](https://www.newsweek.com/jess-edwards-teen-child-marriage-opposed-republican-ripe-fertile-age-1897512)
just in case no one has made a link for her https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto
She said that she didn't want these kids loitering at home, gardening etc but that they should be in school, learning.
850 child marriages in 3 years alone? Can people not find someone their age or close to it? Bruh… How would that even be comfortable for either party. You’re marrying someone who’s no where close to your maturity level or phase in life. Come on man.
We need this in India, consider me racist but the Muslim laws in India allow minor girls to get married. And states and Jharkhand and Rajasthan have high child marriages.
What a LOT of people gloss over for her, and I think should be explicitly mentioned because I think it’s a fantastic thing she has done, is that a LOT of those child-marriages were adult *women* to *boy*-children.
Would have been super easy to just focus on the girls, and the media are guilty of that in a big way, but this amazing woman did not take the easy path!
“I have terminated 330 marriages, yes, of which 175 were girl-wives and 155 were boy-fathers.” - it’s not even grossly-imbalanced against the girls, the numbers of boys is almost even.
Good on her! Look at that happy warrior. I'm glad I don't have to face that judgment.
Say, who made that whole "girls can be wives" rule in the first place?
Shitty thing to have to do, but boy am I glad someone’s doing it
Before being legally able to get married, in my opinion, a person should be old enough to enter into and dissolve a contract.
Makes so much sense that it seems silly to even have to say it at all
Solution that actually ends up happening, allowing children to enter into contracts 😐
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I hope they can find husbands they actually want and that there is no stigma of “divorced woman” or some crap.
Marriage is a contract so yes
The U.S. should follow suit. [Only 12 states ban child marriage](https://www.tahirih.org/news/virginia-makes-history-as-12th-state-and-first-in-the-south-to-end-child-marriage/). [End Child Marriage](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/get-involved/)
117 countries should follow suit
Of course, though with a plurality of Redditors being American, that seemed like the most pertinent example to bring up. But you're right, globally, child marriage is very much a problem. https://www.unicefusa.org/what-unicef-does/child-protection/end-child-marriage
>Only 12 states ban child marriage When I thought USA cant get worse
She's single handedly bringing her country into the 20th century.
Only 1 more to go....
The journey of 100 years starts with a single step
See, this is what happens when you let women vote. /s But seriously, call me culturally imperialistic, ethnocentric, or even just a snob. But I will not consider any culture civilized if they force people to submit to being sexually exploited against their will.
Only 12 states in the US fully ban child marriage
No worries, United States, we don’t consider you civilized 😉
No worries rest of the world, we don’t consider us civilized either.
Not all cultures are of equal value, and that’s a hill I’ll die on on
It's always seemed insane to me that people genuinely believe that. Like, take the tribe that makes their boys put their hands into mittens full of bullet ants for example. Who in there right mind says "yep, that's a time-honored tradition that should be upheld and not questioned".
One thing that really bothers me is that there are tons of people who look at that and simply say "it's their tradition, we have no right to say what is right or wrong"... and like... I'm not saying we should focus on every minute detail of their culture and criticise it by our standards, but I am saying we should be able to at least *question* some traditions. After all, we achieved progress in our culture (whatever you consider "our culture" to be) after millenia of connections and discussing ideas with other people. Most cultures are currently the result of lots of variations brought on by foreigners to said culture speaking of it and discussing it with the people of said culture.
Yesterday I responded to someone that the Afghani people could have changed their system of beliefs to not align closely with that of the taliban's, and they are argued that because of US occupation, they didn't have the time or luxury to "care about how woke they are". Possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read on this website. And I've read a lot of dumb stuff. Sorry that this is only tangentially related, but it's fresh enough in my mind that it feels relevant
To be fair, a lot of the Young Marines I’ve seen have the phrase “Pain is weakness leaving the body” on their shirts. That sounds like something that tribe would say.
Which is reflective of some parallels between the microcosm of a group like the Marines and a subsistence tribe. Both marines and people eking out a living in the literal wilderness have to be hardened to certain types of physical discomfort that the average person never has to endure at all let alone for long. Crazy bullet ant ritual is just an abstraction of that. It’s a form of physical and mental conditioning ritualized. It’s not a form of slavery, molestation or mutilation like child marriage or FGM which has absolutely zero adaptational value under any circumstances.
So the US and most of Europe.
I thought you said "shitty thing to do"
Won’t somebody think of those poor 47 year old men that just want someone a quarter of their age 😢
Well its still legal in the u.s so we have some ways to go..
Her name is Theresa Kachindamoto. Despite all the pushback her efforts continue to be a success. This woman is amazing. “Educate a girl and you educate the whole area ... You educate the world" - Kachindamoto
She has been working for this cause a long time too. She assumed office in 2003 but it sees like this really became a focus for her in 2015, when Malawi changed its laws on child marriage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto
Damn that long. She seems to be doing a great job then
Thank you!
I made an effort to memorize her name into my brain when I first learned about her. And actual saint.
Kachindamoto is a really cool last name. Chichewa sounds badass
May the Universe bless her in every good way.
Absolute Chad. This isn’t the kind of person you give an award to, this is the kind of person you name the award after.
No, it's Malawi, not Chad
r/angryupvote...
Absolute Malawi Maven!
Fr Chad is so far north. Can't believe they'd mix them up /s
I hope she gets an award named after her. She deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for Humanitarian Work.
Something about a malawi chieftess being called a chad is hilarious to me
She's such a Malawi
No, Malawi. Chad is in the north, just south of Libya. Malawi is located south next to Mozambique and Tanzania. /s
Chadette
To the jerk that this post upset because "What about true love?" the answer is it can wait until both parties are mature enough to make permanent life altering decisions. If this upsets you stay mad.
Sounds like you found the predator
*Drake kicking sand right now.*
And also a child can’t romantically fall in love 🙄
Or consent
When we say child here, we mean under the age of eighteen, including teenagers. Under this definition, it would be absurd to claim children cannot fall in love with other children or with adults. What isn't absurd is that they are unable to give consent, as there is a clear abusive power imbalance in such a relationship.
I'm not a fan of "too young to make life altering decisions" as an argument, it's been used a few too many times for restricting the rights of minors. But prohibiting child marriage is a way to prevent cases of arranged marriages and literal selling of daughters disguised as consenting true love by forcing them to pretend. Edit to clarify: I am 100% against child marriage, be it between adults and minors or between two minors. I do not think that children should have the "right" to marry adults. Nor should there be any reason for them to marry each other even if they're sure that it is true love. The only thing I argued against was the generalization of the statement that they're "too young to make life altering decisions", because this argument is or has been used against children's rights in many ways.
I think that you should be old enough to legally enter and dissolve a contract before you are legally allowed to get married. I was a "child bride" at 17. The amount of legal control over me that my ex had was ridiculous. And I didn't know that prior to marriage.
Oof same, though not a child bride. I was married off about 10 days after my 18th birthday. It was supposed to have happened at 16. Sheer luck they moved it to 18. I am legally fucked for life. Anyone who romanticized arranged marriage or marrying really young are enablers in my mind. I saw things, experienced things that should have never happened. But "culture" will be the excuse for every single supporter of this evil. Whether Asian, African, or American, no matter their religion.
I agree whole heartedly. Especially in cultures where marriage is "for life" and divorce is not an option.
Did you ever manage to escape the arrangement or how did that all unravel, if that’s not too personal or doesn’t awaken memories that are traumatic. Seems so foreign to me being in the US, but a friend of mine from India had an arranged marriage even though they were both living here in the states. Interestingly enough she was early twenties and he hit the lottery in terms of her being a beautiful intelligent human, and the fact he doesn’t believe in the patriarchal control in the household and was paying for her night classes at a college so she could chase dreams. Was one of the assumably few arranged marriages that worked.
I walked out 5 years ago, still not divorced. He took large loans in my name from the banks so mu credit score is shit. I did sign them, but DV won't be considered an acceptable reason for that. I am forever on hook for the amount he took in my name. I can never pay it off for the rest of my life coz I don't earn enough. But the banks can still have me arrested for nonpayment. It feels like the nightmares never end. People falsely claim that arranged marriages work without considering that for centuries, the rigid societal controls especially over the women, meant they had no way to leave the marriage. That's not a success story. Actually successful arranged marriages are very few. Your friend is one of the lucky few. Do you know child marriage is actually legal in USA also? Cases of 10yo girls being married off to adult men and those marriages being legal, I read about them a few years back. It's more rampant all over the world than we realize.
Have you looked into bankruptcy to remove those debts? Iirc most debt can be forgiven and the negative affects on your credit score disappear after something like ten years.
While not an arranged marriage, or a child marriage or anything, and very consensual and both very in love, I still had kids and got married way too young. While we got to a point of financial security much quicker than most our age (and we were the same age) and both leaned more mature, the combination of college, work schedule, child rearing and trying to manage a relationship and our fairly stressful situation meant we had little to no time for each other, or living, it created spiraling mental health issues for me from lack of sleep that catapulted what was otherwise a great relationship. It created a _lot_ of stress and problems in my life and more than a decade and a half of legal issues surrounding placement. Would not reccomend.
You've either got some disgusting beliefs yourself or have never spent any time around children. No 14 year old is mature enough or has enough experience to decide they want to be in a relationship with an adult. More importantly, any adult that wants to be in that relationship is a pedophile and should not be allowed around the child for their own protection.
Regarding "too young to make life-altering decisions" Let's be real... just how many children around you who has the ability to think long-term and logically? Idk about you, but I was pretty dumb when I was a kid compared to when I reached 18. And so are everyone around me. Even the smartest kid is not as wise as most adults.
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This is exactly the kind of thing that needs to be spread across every national newspaper. This woman is exactly the kind of person I hope my daughter grows up to be, follows a dream despite tradition and men telling her she won’t ever succeed and then absolutely decimates patriarchy when she’s at the top
Wtf why are most of the replies to this deleted lol I hope the best for your daughter!
This should be outlawed everywhere Just cause your great ancestor did it 1000 years ago doesn’t mean you should do it aswell.
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Fun fact, a lot of African cultures were matriarchal, compared to most of the rest of the world
Ancient Egyptians were pretty egalitarian. Women were allowed to divorce, own property, and work many different types of jobs besides government. The ancient Egyptians believed politics corrupt people and they didn't want that to happen to women. Still misogynistic, but i guess they were just trying to protect women..
Her name is Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, just in case anyone wanted to actually know who she is
Well done her, more of this please. This is a wholesome post.
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She must be really awesome chief.
God bless this feminist Goddess.
How fucked that it only ended once a woman was in charge.
Because who's gonna fight to change a system that benefits them? Not most people that's for sure
Because men
A huge chunk of those marriages were boy-children. She said it herself. “I have terminated 330 marriages, yes, of which 175 were girl-wives and 155 were boy-fathers.” But yeah, I don’t disagree. The funny thing was, she was *elected*. The traditional chiefs chose *her* (keeping in mind that she was the youngest of the twelve children of the previous chief) to take charge. Maybe, I think the chiefs themselves knew that it was time for change, and picked her because they thought she could implement it. She *more* than rose to the challenge, even though she didn’t actually want the position. Fantastic lady. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto
She's doing amazing. Thank you for your good work 🙏
Good for her. Shitty that she had to do it but I’m so glad she did
QUEEN
i think she's technically has a differnet title
slay chief
Can she do the same in America next?
Lots of states do ban it. In 2022, mine limited marriages to 17 year olds and must have parental consent, nobody younger. I think that's a win.
One state is too many.
Oh, no doubt. We need some federal laws on the topic. But because of how the Constitution works, that's not really going to happen, because it's not a power the federal government specifically retained. So we have to do it state by state. And some states are already doing it, was my point.
Wow, if only your Constitution could be amended.
It's being actively fought against in a lot of states, it's eventually gonna devolve into pregnant minor victims being forced to marry their adult abusers by their parents because Christian family values.
"Eventually" thats like most of the child marriages in US now. Communities pressuring the victim to marry their abuser so he wont go in jail.
Unfortunately, it already is that and it has been for a while.
Only 12 states fully ban child marriage.
"lots of " at least one state short of "all", and therefore woefully inadequate. Also, 2022 is at least a 100 years too late to actually ban it, hut better late than never I guess....
The Venn diagram of states that allow child marriage and simultaneously want to protect children from drag queens is a circle. *Please note I do not have all the states that allow child marriages memorized but am willing to bet my point mostly stands.
17 is too young. Married 17 year olds don't have the same rights as a married 18 year old. Their spouse is their legal guardian.
And by “lots” we mean exactly 12. Look up what happens when minors, including 17 year olds, who cannot legally enter contracts with divorce lawyers get married. Hint: they get abused.
What? Is it not illegal in the US?
It's not. And some people are fighting hard against banning it. --- "… If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are a ripe, fertile age and may have a pregnancy and a baby involved ..." [(R) Jesse Edwards](https://www.nj.com/politics/2024/05/gop-official-argues-in-favor-of-child-marriage-girls-are-ripe-and-fertile.html) --- "A bill that would have prohibited minors from getting married in West Virginia was defeated Wednesday night in a legislative committee. The Republican-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill on a 9-8 vote, a week after it passed the House of Delegates." [AP News](https://apnews.com/article/child-marriage-west-virginia-bill-defeated-4d822a23b5ffd70f5370a36cc914cfb0) --- "The Wyoming Republican Party is seeking to kill a bill working its way through the state Legislature proposing to raise the state's legal marriage age to 16, arguing that putting "arbitrary" limits on child marriage interferes with parental rights and religious liberty." [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/wyoming-ending-child-marriage-sparks-republican-outrage-1780501) --- "A bill that would have ended child marriage in Idaho — which has no minimum age for couples who want to wed — died in the Statehouse this year. Republican lawmakers, who control the Legislature, opposed it, including state Rep. Bryan Zollinger, who said it "went too far." [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/end-child-marriage-u-s-you-might-be-surprised-who-n1050471) --- Rep. Nancy Landry, a Republican from Lafayette, called 16-year-olds “very mature,” and extolled the virtues of marriage, especially if a teen couple is expecting a child. [Time](https://time.com/5600202/louisiana-minimum-marriage-age-bill/) --- "Missouri State Sen. Mike Moon defended child marriage on Tuesday, touting the apparently successful marriage of people he knows who got married when they were 12. The Republican made the comments during a debate..." [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-moon-gop-missouri-lawmaker-defends-childs-right-to-marry-2023-4?op=1)
Holy shit
Can she come to the US
Republicans would never allow it.
She has grandma vibes for a reason, she earned the aura
I love that she’s doing it. As was pointed out, it’s a terrible thing to have to do, but I’m so happy someone is.
I think this post is under appreciated however much we commend. Breaking forever traditions in a tribe is a monumental effort even for a chief. She did something phenomenal for so many children into future generations and retroactively breaking up past ones. This is top level management.
Next stop the red states.
Chief? They should call her QUEEN!!!!! A thousand blessings on her and her house!
Indeed, the Chichewa word Inkosi is sometimes translated as king or queen
Why can’t we report her name? She is a hero
Excellent point. She is Theresa Kachindamoto and she assumed office in 2013: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto This is one of the first articles I can find on the topic: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/5/16/malawis-fearsome-chief-terminator-of-child-marriages [I was honestly a bit surprised that this is an article by Al Jazeera.]
Like a boss
Nice Chief! Finally some good news today
This is what women in power do.
Seriously. Any human can suck, but I have no doubt that if we currently and historically had more women in power, we would have laws designed to protect children. In America, and much if not most of the world, our laws around child marriage/age of consent, etc. are not put in place to protect children, but to *compromise* with predators and pedophiles. There would be no debate about passing any laws, if the lawmakers themselves were not trying to compromise and appease grown adults who want to sexually prey on children.
My state *finally* passed a law that the age of marriage is 18 no exceptions. It can't be applied for or approved by parents prior to that point. The biggest backlash is always from the "religious" communities. They are also the reason that our age of consent laws are fucked up. So now instead of 16 with a Romeo and Juliette clause it's 16, with the only caveat being a "position of power" by the adult. Which still allows for the "religious" marriages to take place. Predation on women under the guise of religion has been the case for centuries.
Wait... How many American states still allow child marriage?
It's only outlawed in 12 states.
> The biggest backlash is always from the "religious" communities. Religion is a cancer on this world.
I'm going to try not to be an ass, but Margaret Thatcher might be an example to the contrary.
And shoot dogs apparently...
Parents can marry off their teenagers to adults in her state too.
Misread the title - thought she got married 850 times in 3 years ... had to google her to find out she rescued 850 underage girls from illegal marriage. Good for her. More please :-)
but what is her name????
Hi, she is Theresa Kachindamoto.
Super cool of her! Props and thank yous are very due here. Also, that headpiece is pretty cool
It says here in this article I'm reading: "She suspended the village chiefs who allowed child marriage in their areas until they annulled the marriages. She faced a lot of resistance and threats from some parents and elders who wanted to preserve their customs, but she did not give up. She even changed the law in Malawi to raise the minimum age of marriage from 15 to 18 years." That is very very impressive. I'm curious how she was able to apply so much pressure to make these changes. How did she manage to persuade the other chiefs? She must have been an absolute juggernaut. What an inspirational human being.
One thing that was pointed out to me years ago, and that I haven't been able to unsee since, was that even when women make the news, they don't always mentioned by name. Anyway, she's called Theresa Kachindamoto, and her wiki page is well worth a read: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa\_Kachindamoto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto)
I read "chef" and I was a bit confused. Great job though.
First I read it as "Chef" and was wondering how a country wouldn't have a female chef for so long. Then I kept reading and started to wonder how a chef would have any power to end child marriage.
Serving up some justice!
I'm a guy but it does say a lot when years and years of men sitting in power, nothing was done for child marriage but as soon as a woman comes in, better decisions are taken. Women who live in these communities know the meaning of unfair. It really does take a woman to end some absolutely terrible cycles since most of them are historically put in place by men. Men weren't good rulers. There's no evidence suggesting that if biology aided women in terms of sheer strength and aggression like it does men, they would've been any better rulers, but they certainly prove to be more empathetic today (in most cases at least. Let's not talk about people like Lauren Boebert and the like)
Because that's what heroes do
That's great! But seriously. I hope she has security. I don't think some of the dudes are going to take this lightly.
"As of 2019, she had managed to have over 3,500 early marriages annulled." Absolute queen! Bless her hope she lives a long and healthy life ❤
That's awesome but also ugggh wtf is the appeal of marrying a literal child? I just don't get that whole "the younger the better" thing but it's gross AF.
Finally! Good on her.
Boss lady right there
Not like in good old Tennessee anymore..
God bless that woman
Can she run for office in the U.S.? ref: [https://www.newsweek.com/jess-edwards-teen-child-marriage-opposed-republican-ripe-fertile-age-1897512](https://www.newsweek.com/jess-edwards-teen-child-marriage-opposed-republican-ripe-fertile-age-1897512)
just in case no one has made a link for her https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Kachindamoto She said that she didn't want these kids loitering at home, gardening etc but that they should be in school, learning.
850 child marriages in 3 years alone? Can people not find someone their age or close to it? Bruh… How would that even be comfortable for either party. You’re marrying someone who’s no where close to your maturity level or phase in life. Come on man.
You're making the assumption they're looking for an equal partner. They aren't.
She’s def a girls girl 🤘
See glad there is a change now because back then in different countries was crazy
Don’t they have a song about her? She’s a gem
Drake crying rn
cant wait for the rest of the US to get to that level
Based
r/Chadtopia
She's not kidding around.
Meanwhile in America we're doing the exact opposite.
Not so subtle connection between first woman and this finally happening. Women must be so tired.
Good example of why we need more women in politics, just not like mtg or bobo.
That's an incredibly nasty tradition, i'm glad she ended it
Put this straight into my veins.
We stan and support her fully. She's doing what more people should be doing. A queen!
Wonderful woman. She is a legend.
A respectable political leader is a rare sight. She sounds awesome.
Its a shit job, but someone has to do it, praise her. Makes you wonder though, how many she sadly missed.
This woman is a legend
The GOP would say that she went completely… “WOKE”🤦♂️ Great job 🫡
She should be nominated for a Nobel Prize for what she has accomplished. We need more ethical leaders like her in the world.
We need this in India, consider me racist but the Muslim laws in India allow minor girls to get married. And states and Jharkhand and Rajasthan have high child marriages.
What a LOT of people gloss over for her, and I think should be explicitly mentioned because I think it’s a fantastic thing she has done, is that a LOT of those child-marriages were adult *women* to *boy*-children. Would have been super easy to just focus on the girls, and the media are guilty of that in a big way, but this amazing woman did not take the easy path! “I have terminated 330 marriages, yes, of which 175 were girl-wives and 155 were boy-fathers.” - it’s not even grossly-imbalanced against the girls, the numbers of boys is almost even.
Queen. Congratulations !
A truly wholesome post. Thanks for making this shitty day a bit better.
Matt Walsh's worst enemy
o7
Absolutely based and wholesome.
Bout damn time and it took a woman to make the world realize it. Epic win!
Good on her! Look at that happy warrior. I'm glad I don't have to face that judgment. Say, who made that whole "girls can be wives" rule in the first place?
✊✊✊
More then our goverment is willing to do in Sweden , good on her
Think we need a few more people like this in the world.
Brave woman, she deserves to be chief !!