I definitely think it’s a tragedy for a 9 year old girl to be married… no question. But even if they aren’t married, they are going to be treated poorly, disrespected, abused in various ways in that culture without a holistic solution that actually frees them. It’s possible (although still very sad) that the life of a married 9 year old girl in that culture is better than the life of an unmarried one. Note that I’m not saying it is… I have no idea at all, but I’m just becoming aware that rescuing people from one little aspect of their unfair lives is very often futile or even detrimental. We should continue to stand for and promote ideals (9-year-olds should not be subjected to adult situations like marriage) but also recognize the pragmatic effects of our insistence on the victims themselves.

The main, recent example I’m looking at is the outrage about the little Chinese girls competing in the Olympics. They are taken from their parents at a VERY young age and raised with the singular purpose of becoming Olympians. It’s THAT part of the story that needs to stop. But if we say “Nobody under 16 may compete” to try to prevent the exploitation of young children, does that do anything at all to discourage the practice? Not at all… it just means they’ll be in the farm a few years LONGER before they get to compete in the Olympics, which by that point is probably the ONE BRIGHT SPOT in their lives. By downplaying the accomplishments of these poor girls and insisting that they shouldn’t compete, how are we helping them?

Anyway… I’m not even sure how related this is, but it’s been on my mind lately. We should focus both on what IDEALS should we go after and what PRAGMATIC solutions can we come up with along the way that ACTUALLY improve the lives of the victims.