Children forced into marriage

THE practice of parents marrying off their young girls has always seemed like a remote problem within certain cultures in lands far away.

THE practice of parents marrying off their young girls has always seemed like a remote problem within certain cultures in lands far away.

 It's inhumane wherever it happens, but the idea that parents in this country are taking their children out of school to be sent abroad to be married at the age of 12 or 13 would be abhorrent to most right-thinking people.

Yet, as Caroline Overington reports, it's a growing issue here, which has prompted the Federal Government into action.

This is one case where the basic human rights of people living in this country should override cultural practices and traditions.