At the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Naila Amin shared her survivor story of child marriage and called for a federal law banning marriage for children under 18 in the United States. She highlighted the importance of laws like Naila’s Law in New York, which raised the age of consent to marry to 18, as a way to prevent the trauma and abuse that she faced as a child bride.
Naila recounted her own experience of being engaged at the age of 8 to a much older man and later forced into marriage in Pakistan at the age of 15. Despite enduring abuse and suffering rape and torture at the hands of her husband, she found the strength to survive and fight for change. Naila’s Law, passed in New York in 2021, sets a minimum age requirement for marriage at 18 with no exceptions, serving as a powerful tool to protect children from the horrors of forced marriage.
While New York has taken a strong stance against child marriage, there are still 37 states and the District of Columbia that allow some form of child marriage. Naila emphasized the need for nationwide protections, including the federal Child Marriage Prevention Act, which would ban child marriages on federal property, make changes to U.S. immigration law, and incentivize states to take action against child marriage.
Child marriage is not limited to immigrant families in the United States. Children from all backgrounds are at risk of being forced into marriages against their will, whether by their families, predatory adults, or as a means to escape abuse at home. Naila stressed that no child should be subjected to such a harmful practice, and that lasting protections must be put in place to safeguard children’s rights and well-being.
As a mother, Naila reflected on her daughter’s upbringing and the stark differences from her own traumatic childhood. She expressed pride in the progress made through laws like Naila’s Law and called for unity across political lines to support the Child Marriage Prevention Act. By standing together against child marriage, regardless of background or beliefs, we can ensure a safer and brighter future for all children in the United States.
