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Child marriage, which steals the innocence of millions of girls worldwide and often condemns them to lives of poverty, ignorance and poor health, is one of the biggest obstacles to development, Reuters reports.

A girl under the age of 18 is married every three seconds -- that's 10 million each year -- often without her consent and sometimes to a much older man. Most of those marriages take place in Africa, the Middle East or South Asia.

Girls forced into early marriage rarely continue their education, denying them any hope of independence, the ability to earn a livelihood or of making an economic contribution to their households.

Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than women over 20. Worldwide, 70,000 girls aged 15-19 die each year during pregnancy or childbirth.

"This is one of the biggest development issues of our time and we're committed to raising the voices of millions of girls married against their will," charity group Plan UK head Marie Staunton said. （点击路透社网站查看原文）

童婚毁掉数百万女孩儿

       据路透社报道，童婚为最大的发展障碍之一，因为它夺去了全世界数百万女孩的童真，致使她们贫困、无知，损坏了她们的健康。

       每3秒钟就有一个18岁以下的女孩出嫁，即一年1000万个女孩。结婚经常未经过本人同意，有时她们嫁给年长很多的人。这类婚姻大多数发生在非洲、中东和南亚。

       早婚的女孩一般放弃学业，致使她们没希望独立，学不到谋生的本领和为家庭做经济贡献的本领。

       15岁以下的女孩怀孕或生产期间的死亡率是20岁以上女子的5倍。每年全世界有7万名15至19岁的女孩在怀孕或生产期间死亡。

       慈善组织“英国计划”的负责人玛丽·斯丹顿说：“这是当代最大的发展问题之一。我们致力于提高对数百万被迫成婚的女孩的关注度。”

(China.org.cn August 9, 2011)