一个女孩的价值——埃斯特拉：“我想和他在一起。”

The Worth of a Girl – Estrella: ‘I Wanted To Be With Him’

Estrella was in the sixth grade when her boyfriend Hendrin said, with the urgency of young love, that they should spend the rest of their lives together.

“I was unsure because of my studies,” Estrella told VOA. “But since I love him so much, well, yes. I said yes! I knew I wanted to be with him.”

Their parents objected to the idea immediately. But, on August 25, 2018, Estrella Belen Estrada Rodriguez married Hendrin Gonzalez Melchor. The couple settled at his family’s small farm in the poor, southern state of Chiapas, Mexico. She was 13. He was 15.

“God willing, my daughter will be all right,” said Estrella’s mother, Maria Eugenia Rodriguez Valbuena. She held Estrella’s hand tightly¹. The two spoke² outside their home a few days before the wedding. Valbuena was taking a break from sewing her daughter’s wedding dress.

No progress has been made in reducing the number of child marriages in Mexico for the last 30 years, the United Nations Children’s Fund reports. This is the case across Latin America and the Caribbean area. The international coalition³ Girls Not Brides says the area is the only one on the world where early unions are increasing overall.

UNICEF says girls with limited education who come from low-income households in poor, rural areas are more likely to marry at an early age. Research suggests that halting early marriage can raise living standards for girls and their families and improve a nation’s economy.

Mexico bans marriage before the age of 18

In early June, Mexico’s government announced a ban on marriage before the age of 18. The new rule affects many state laws that permit marriage with parental⁴ permission for males as young as 16 and girls as young as 14.

Mexico joins most other Latin American countries in setting 18 as the age of lawful⁵ marriage, says Girls Not Brides. Some countries, especially in the Caribbean area, have no lowest age established.

In Mexico, about one in four girls gets married or lives with a sexual⁶ partner by age 18, UNICEF reports. The practice is even more common in rural, Native-populated communities such as Chiapa de Corzo. That is where VOA partner Azteca News found Estrella and Hendrin. In such places, almost one third of girls marries young.

Children who live together as partners affect the underage marriage rate in Latin America. In Mexico alone, 80 percent of early unions are between unmarried people, Girls Not Brides reports. The data came from the Mexican health and demographic research company INSAD. It says teenage pregnancy⁷ is involved in about half of early unions.

Early unions interfere⁸ with schooling⁹

Of girls who get married or are living with a partner in Mexico, only 10 percent return to school, INSAD says. It notes that household responsibilities or pregnancy often get in the way. Married girls who want to return to their education also may face discrimination, especially if they are pregnant¹⁰.

Eugenia Lopez Uribe is Girls Not Brides’ top officer in Latin America. She says schools send pregnant girls a message that “we don’t want you here because you’re a bad example…” to other students.

Near Chiapa de Corzo, Estrella has left schoolwork for the study of homemaking. Her mother-in-law has taught her how to make Hendrin’s breakfast eggs, wash clothes and clean the house. Hendrin takes care of the farm animals and fieldwork. He, too, left school early.

Parental worry

Neither Hendrin’s nor Estella’s parents planned marriage for their children at such a young age.

When Hendrin told his father about his marriage plans, “He took me…behind the house, and he scolded me, and he hit me,” the teenager says.

Within a few days, his father accepted the idea.

OAS urges change

Almost a year into the marriage, Estrella and Hendrin say they are happy with their situation. Still, the national government wants to see fewer underage unions. So does the Organization of American States (OAS), which has urged its 34 member nations to support the U.N. goal of ending child marriage.

A 2016 OAS meeting on the issue led to advisements for expanding awareness¹¹, strengthening data collection, and reforming laws and public policies.

But advisements and legal reform are not enough, says Lopez Uribe of Girls Not Brides. She says girls must get expanded access to education and health care.

Girls “need tools and resources to develop their full potential and worth,” she says.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

wedding - n. a ceremony at which two people are married to each other

standard - n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable¹² or desirable

practice - n. something that is done often or regularly

scold - v. to speak in an angry or critical way to (someone who has done something wrong)

awareness - n. the knowledge or recognition¹³ that something (such as a situation, condition, or problem) exists

potential - n. capable of becoming real; possible

1 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

5 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

6 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

7 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。

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

9 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

10 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

13 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。