In May, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and the House Foreign Affairs Committee incorporated provisions to confront child marriage in the State Department Reauthorization Bill.

Introduced in the House by Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and in the Senate by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act authorizes U.S. foreign assistance programs to prevent child marriage and provide educational and economic opportunities for girls in the developing world. Chairman Berman’s inclusion of these measures into the State Department Reauthorization bill would provide funding for programs that protect the health and rights of girls worldwide for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011.

 

To succeed in strengthening U.S. foreign policy, including reducing poverty and maximizing our development assistance, and upholding the human rights of girls and women around the world, ending child marriage must continue to be a policy priority for Congress and the Obama Administration. Read what our Vice President Beth Fredrick has to say on the significance of this bold legislation in a blog post on Rewire.

And last but not least, check out the short video we made on the subject, featuring International Women’s Health Coalition Communications Assistant Lori Adelman.