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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan on Monday marks World Population Day, which is held this year under the theme "Investing in Teenage Girls".

Assistant Secretary General for Media Affairs and Communication of Higher Population Council, Hanna Al-Soub, said that teenage girls across the world face enormous challenges. Many are considered by their communities or parents to be ready for marriage and motherhood and are denied the right to continue their education , damaging their future prospects.

"Pregnant teenage girls, who stay in school, face major challenges including, poor access to basic information about their health, human rights and reproductive rights, leaving them vulnerable to illness, injury and exploitation", she added.

Al-Soub revealed that the council will conduct a study on early marriage in Jordan, to find out the attitudes, beliefs and practices of the community towards this phenomenon in each governorate .

The study aims at identifying the social, economic and psychological health impacts of early marriage on girls, as well as developing a plan to raise awareness of the negative and harmful effects as well as the dangers of child marriage on both sexes.

The study will enhance positive attitudes and practices for applying 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage for both sexes .

A study on "Early Marriage in Jordan" conducted in 2014 by the UNICEF revealed that there has been no significant decline in rates of child marriages registered in courts in Jordan from 2005 to 2013. The rate ranged from 14.3 per cent in 2005 to a slightly reduced 13.2 per cent in 2013 (with an apparent to 8.5 per cent recorded in 2009).

The 2013 figures showed an increase after staying stable at 12.6 per cent in 2011 and 2012, the study revealed.

According to the UN Women of the 700 million women alive today, who were married as children, more than one in three were married before they turned 15.

As young brides, girls have to forgo their youth and adolescence years, as they take on family responsibilities. They are unable to negotiate safe sex practices and vulnerable to early pregnancy, contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, UN Women said.