ICC President to Give Library Lunchtime Lecture on "Child Brides"
GRA Student Poster to Be Chosen as Project Logo

Early or forced marriage, meaning any form of marriage before the age of 18, compromises the overall development of young girls, including their health, education and social interactions, making them vulnerable to physical and emotional trauma, social isolation and violence.

There is rising awareness both globally and nationally, and in all sectors of society, that this harmful practice must be stopped and a major movement supporting girls' education initiated. The International Children's Center (ICC) is a part of the global and national network determined to fight against early/forced marriages of girl children, says ICC Gender and Women's Issues Officer Senem Bengü.

Located within Bilkent University's Main Campus Library, ICC is a multidisciplinary non-governmental organization, reopened in Ankara in 1999 (after its closure in Paris, France) on the initiative of Bilkent's founder, Prof. İhsan Doğramacı. The organization works in collaboration with many national and international partners to promote the health and rights of children, adolescents and women. On Thursday, April 5, Prof. Tomris Türmen, president of the ICC, will address the issue of underage brides in Turkey in a lecture entitled "Child Brides."        

Getting married while still a child is a reality for many girls in Turkey. According to Turkish national statistics, in 14 percent of all marriages registered in 2010, one of the partners was under the age of 18. The Demographic Health Survey of 2008, which was presented to the Turkish National Assembly's Commission on Equal Opportunity for Men and Women, reported that 39.7 percent of women in Turkey had married (through legal marriage and/or religious marriage) before turning 18, and 2 million women in Turkey were subject of a dowry.

Early marriage is a violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as a number of other international human rights conventions. Girls are forced into marriage by their families in the hope that marriage will protect their "honor" and chastity and help them survive economically. However, for a child who is yet to be prepared for the responsibilities and expectations of marriage, early marriage increases risks of adverse physical, sexual, mental and psychological health consequences.

ealth is the basis for productivity, personal growth and development, both physical and emotional. Many girls who are married at a young age are denied the opportunity to comprehend and realize themselves as individuals, and are forced to become wives and mothers while they are still themselves children with immature bodies. Moreover, girls forced into early marriage rarely continue their education, denying them any hope of independence or ability to earn a livelihood and make an economic contribution. This serves to perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

Prof. Türmen will outline these and other aspects of the early/forced marriage issue in her lecture on Thursday, which will take place in the Art Gallery of the Main Campus Library at 12:40 p.m. as part of the Library Lunchtime Lecture series. The audience will also be able to view an exhibition of 24 posters created on the topic of child brides by third-year undergraduate students of the Department of Graphic Design under the supervision of studio instructors Özlem Özkal and Fulya İnce Gürer. One poster will be chosen from among these to be used as the logo of the ICC project. Prof. Ali Doğramacı, president of the Board of Trustees, will announce the name of the winning student prior to Prof. Türmen's presentation. Those attending the event will receive a print of the winning poster as well as lunchtime refreshments.