Why Would You Commodify a Girl Child for Your Insecurity?

By Dominica J.S. Marbaniang

Why would you Commodify A Girl Child for your Insecurity? 

She is not an object. She is neither a commodity. She is not an entertainment. She is not a product of exchange. She is not a burden, and she is not weak. She is a blessing. She is remarkable. She is extraordinary. She is powerful. She is indestructible. She is beauty. 

Have you ever given yourself 

a moment to think about the life of a 15 year-old as a mother? And how utterly horrific it must have been if 

she was forced to attain the motherly status without her own consent? 

Lets face it. We all live in the 21st century. This is an era where women prioritize education, career, self- 

sufficiency and financial 

security over marriage, kids or starting a family. This is an 

era where young adolescent girls strive and prevail. Like all men, they dare to dream. Regardless of their 

insecurities, they have proven themselves capable of being seen. They have a voice. They 

grow, they bloom, they blossom. To them, life is no longer a struggle, it is a celebration. 

But what about the hundreds 

and thousands who are still 

suppressed in pain and in 

agony of being sold into early marriage as a commodity? Don't they belong to the 21st century too? Aren't they 

human too? Don't they 

deserve a better life too? 

Don't their dreams matter 

too? Are they born only but to die? Die. Yes, I meant that. Child marriage marks the beginning of the end of life. The poor innocent loses her childhood when she is 

supposed to be celebrating it She becomes a mother at an 

age when she herself is in dire need of one. She struggles to 

survive in an environment in which her young body and mind is not ready for. She becomes vulnerable, weak, fragile. Her beauty fades, her soul dies. 

Even as the world celebrates the existence of women and honour the significance of the girl child, child marriage is still prevalent. Every 7th second, a girl under the age of 15 is 

married off. Despite legal prohibitions, the practice of child marriage is persisting. India in fact, has the highest number of child brides 

globally. Many of these 

remain in the abyss of grief and disbelief, hopeful, but yet again, helpless. 

To many, the girl child is considered a burden to the 

family. She is sold as a product for sheer economic need. She becomes a 

commodity. Conservative mindsets perceive child 

marriage as a solution to 

sexual exploitation. While this decision may seem to 

validate the security of the girl child, in reality, child marriage offers little protection from abuse, assault and 

exploitation. How would you assume the little girl to cope in an environment so unfamiliar to her? How would you assume her happiness with someone who is but a 

complete stranger to her? When she is married away by her own family, how would you assure her of all the love and security from another? 

The girl loses out on life. While she is married off with the notion of saving her from the chain of poverty, she becomes poorer. Her whole life is defined in a few words 

of 'a stolen future', robbed off entirely without given a 

second chance to honour her 

own being, to understand her own significance, to accept her graceful existence. 

No matter how cruel the impact of poverty may be, there can be no other crime 

as cruel as marrying off your 

daughter to misery. 

By Dominica J.S. Marbaniang