Week 3: BLOG #5 Topic Proposal

1) Narrow scope of the problem: Focus your initial topic. (5 points)

In this course there have been many topics that got my attention, but the one that I would like to conduct further research on would be on the child brides. I would like to know more about the history of child brides and why many parents agree to have their children married at a very young age. In the documentary, Child Brides many of the women were married when they were fifteen or younger. Child brides are seen in many developing societies for instance, it is typical in Afghan. What got my attention on this particular topic was reading an article in which an eleven year old Afghan girl was forced by her parents to quit school and become engaged with a forty year old man. This research would also include some of the potential problems and concerns associated with these marriages without their consent. I believe that many of this children that are becoming child brides should have an option to deciding what to do with their life’s and live a normal childhood. Children are going thru many things in today’s society, but sometimes justice is not enough. There are many children that commit horrendous crimes, but in this particular case children are being maltreated by their own family and are becoming part of a horrendous crime.


NOW: Child Brides
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/341/video.html

2) Explain the types of sources you will be looking at for your paper (5 points)

For this particular paper I will be looking at some academic journals as well as outside readings. I will be looking into some current cases of child brides and how this has impacted the child’s life. This week we took a closer look at the problem associated with child exploitation as well as sexual abuse for which has become a severe problem. These children are forced to have sexual encounters with many men at a very young age. The potential benefits that will be drawn from these sources will be current events that are currently occurring. In the article, Stolen Lives, it gives an explanation on why many parents are marring their children at a young age. For instance, in Lebanese thirteen year old teenagers are being forced to marry because of the economic crisis. In this article it also gives on explanation on how religion plays a big role with these marriages. In the Muslim circle it is said that girls as young as nine are suitable for marriage.

http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/pqdweb?index=4&did=1897336191&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1279941192&clientId=25164

In the article, Poverty Trap-Child Brides, many assume that needy families in Arab are marring their daughters so that they are not trapped in poverty. It is amazing to know that this is the most recent article dated on July of this year. This also explains how the parents escape financial responsibility. But, it still amazing to know that this is actually happening know and that money is more important than their child as a whole.


http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/pqdweb?index=0&did=2077481961&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1279941615&clientId=25164


3) Provide a clear structure for the type of paper you wish to write (5 points)


The structure of my paper will have to do with the history, the problems and what is going on currently with child brides. I would like to understand why some parents do this to their children and how having a low wage can contribute to this child humiliation. Understanding the history of child brides could be a good starting point because this could help me understand the parent’s point of view and whatever stress they are facing. For instance, in the two articles that I provided, they only explain that parents do this for financial circumstances that they are being surrounded by. But, there are apparently more reasons why this keeps on occurring until this day. In the video, it provides some information about child brides in Afghanistan. I will compare them to other child brides in other parts of the continent. It is interesting to know that many children become brides at a young age based on their religion.

4) Provide a clear explanation about how your topic addresses issues of youth &
justice we’ve covered in the course (5 points)

This topic addresses issues of youth and justice in many ways because a teenager is becoming victimized by their own family. It is amazing that this is still happening in many of the countries. This later becomes part of normal life and nobody is doing anything to help these children who are in need of assistance. This case is significant because children are being prone to abuse without their consent. As stated in this week’s assignment many of these children are being exploited because they are forced to doing things that they don’t want. The men who usually get married with these children are thirty years old or older. For them there is nothing wrong about it because they are going by a contract between him and the parents. These children need to be protected by their parents and not sold to get out of poverty. These children need help and justice.