"A catastrophe is unfolding in Somalia," says UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Executive Director Natalia Kanem. Cases of female genital mutilation and child marriage are rising to alarming levels in parts of Somalia and Ethiopia, countries hard hit by the current drought in the Horn of Africa, the region on the eastern edge of the continent. For families, with the child marriage leaving, there is one less mouth to feed and the hope that the child bride will go to a home with more resources. According to Unicef, child marriage and genital mutilation affects girls as young as 12 with men five times older. For the body, child marriage and genital mutilation end childhood and expose girls to domestic violence and dropping out of school, creating the risk of a lifetime in poverty. Child marriage occurs in many parts of the globe and is rooted in a mix of factors such as religion, culture, and social and patriarchal structures.

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