Noting with concern also that deep-rooted gender inequalities and stereotypes, harmful practices, perceptions and customs, and discriminatory norms are not only obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights and the empowerment of all women and girls but are also among the root causes of child, early and force d marriage, and that the persistence of child, early and forced marriage places children, in particular the girl child, at greater risk of being exposed to and encountering various forms of discrimination and violence throughout their lives,