VOA慢速英语2014 非盟承诺结束童婚

 

AS IT IS 2014-11-25 African Union Promises to End Child Marriage 非盟承诺结束童婚

The African Union has sworn to stop all child marriages within a generation. The African nation of Mozambique has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Strong social and cultural traditions support the practice, although it is illegal. Early marriage compromises the right of girls to an education. It can also have a shocking effect on their health.

Near the town of Pemba, in northern Mozambique, 16-year-old Rachel plays with her daughter. Rachel is not the girl’s real name. The young mother did not want it to be identified. She also asked not to be recorded. 

Rachel got pregnant when she was 14 years old.

She told VOA, “My big sister warned me to stay in school. There are many here who have babies at a young age but normally, they leave school to get married and continue to have children every year after that. Some think marriage is a guarantee of security.”

Rachel’s story is not unusual in Mozambique, where 52% of girls marry before they are 18.

Ceremonies with dancing and music mark the beginning of the mostly secretive initiation¹ rites² season in Pemba. Girls are removed from school when they have their first menstruation – the bleeding that is part of a woman’s monthly period. The girls spend days, weeks, or even months being taught traditions by the “matronas,” female community leaders.

The local school calendar is organized in a way to support the custom.

The matronas teach the traditions to prepare girls for married life in Mozambique. They train them to be obedient to men. They teach them about cooking and other duties related to home and family. The matronas also train the girls in how to interest a man sexually. The initiation rites may also include removing part of the girls’ female genital organs. This is done in the belief that it will increase male sexual pleasure.

Girls are considered ready for marriage once they have completed the initiation activities.

Girls Not Brides is an organization working to end child marriage. Fran?oise Moudouthe is the group’s Africa Regional Officer. She says child marriage often forces girls to leave school. She says the girls also often have babies before their bodies have grown enough to support healthy reproduction.

“Most of them are expected to enter into sexual intercourse³ very early, before her body is ready. She’s also very often expected to have children to prove her value as a wife and the consequences of early pregnancy⁴ for a girl, especially the youngest child bride, is really dramatic. Girls, who are married before age 15, are five times more likely to die or be injured in childbirth than girls over age 19.”

One of the dangers is a fistula. A fistula is a hole that develops between two organs. This can happen during a prolonged labor⁵, where the baby’s head is in the birth canal for a long time. Fistulas can cause leakage⁶ of body waste, an inability to have sex or children, and more dangerous health problems.

Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda is the African Union Goodwill⁷ Ambassador for Ending Child Marriage. She says child marriage is a violation⁸ of the fundamental rights of girls. She believes that child marriage can be ended within a generation if governments, women and youth movements work together with religious and traditional leaders.

“Getting into early marriage should not be an option out of poverty. It is important that our girls have access to education, not only primary education but are able to transition into secondary, tertiary education and get jobs or are involved in some entrepreneurship…we need to also address some of the very strong patriarchal attitudes where girls are seen as wives and not citizens. Girls are not getting married to boys, girls are getting married to adult men who are supposed to be responsible.”

Ms. Gumbonzvanda says current social traditions in Mozambique to prepare girls for womanhood should be changed, not banned. She says training should involve skills that will help girls avoid dependence⁹ on marriage alone.

Slowly, attitudes are changing in Pemba. Education has improved and increased media availability is expanding the flow of information.

Child-to-child radio programs debate issues affecting young people. The programs give young people greater influence in the community. National health campaigns are helping¹⁰ parents learn about the possible harms of early marriage.

Rachel’s parents are delaying her completion of the initiation activities so that she can stay in school.

Words in This Story

practice - n. something that is done often or regularly

sworn - v. to promise very strongly and sincerely to do or not do something

generation – n. the average length of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their children

initiation - n. the process of being formally accepted as a member of a group or organization

attitude - n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

1 initiation   

n.开始

参考例句：

• her initiation into the world of marketing 她的初次涉足营销界
• It was my initiation into the world of high fashion. 这是我初次涉足高级时装界。

2 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

3 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 leakage   

n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量

参考例句：

• Large areas of land have been contaminated by the leakage from the nuclear reactor.大片地区都被核反应堆的泄漏物污染了。
• The continuing leakage is the result of the long crack in the pipe.这根管子上的那一条裂缝致使渗漏不断。

7 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。