ABSTRACT
Women’s right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to their life and to their dignity and equality as a human being. An examination of recent statistics discloses that there are many countries which, on the basis of custom, religious beliefs or the ethnic origins of particular groups of people, permit forced marriages, child and early marriages or female genital mutilation. Moreover, several reports also reveal coercive practices – widespread across the world – which are serious violations of fundamental human rights and have negative consequences for women, such as forced pregnancies, abortions or sterilization, genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to the health of women. This chapter analyses the efforts that are deployed at international level to combat and prevent such harmful traditional practices and concludes that appropriate efforts and measures may improve the general quality of life and health of women, their family and the entire population. The purpose is to underline that voluntary regulation of fertility, health, development and well-being of all members of the family improve where there are freely available appropriate measures and coherent policies and efforts aimed at ensuring the achievement of sustainable economic and social development.
