By: Dawson James
A child marriage is classified as a marriage involving an individual that is under the age of 18. In 2024 it is estimated that 1-in-5 women worldwide entered into a child marriage, with 12 million girls entering into these marriages every year. Most common in Africa and South Asia, the issue disproportionately affects girls, with many international organizations classifying it as a form of violence against women. Girls are often forced into child marriages as a result of factors including poverty level, gender and societal norms, educational experience, as well as political stability within their home nation.
Girls who live in families that experience economic stress are often entered into transactional marriages that involve the payment of a bride price in exchange for marrying a young girl. In Niger and other areas of Central Africa, child marriages have been used to “settle debts.” In this same region, girls are seen as a financial burden on their birth family, with their only value coming from their ability to become wives and mothers. In Bangladesh, a country with a child marriage rate of 51%, the average age of marriage is 15 among low income families. The bride price paid to the girl’s family decreases as girls get older, encouraging families to marry their child off at younger ages.
Another common reason young girls are entered into child marriages by their families is protection. In nations that are experiencing political instability, violence against young women is common, and it is believed that a marriage will protect them. However, this is not the case. Child marriages often involve physical and sexual violence. Girls married before 18 are twice as likely to receive some form of physical violence from their husbands, and 81% of child marriages described their first sexual interactions as forced. In Kenya, girls who enter child marriages are 50% more likely to receive HIV infections than unmarried girls. In Uganda, where 34% of girls are married before 18, 88% of married girls age 15-19 have HIV as opposed to 63% of single girls. Additionally, girls who give birth between 15-18 are twice as likely to die during childbirth than women 20 and older. They also face a highly elevated risk of suffering from other complications such as sepsis, post-partum hemorrhaging, and eclampsia, which are all potentially life ending. Obstructed labor, another common occurrence, often leads to obstetric fistula—the development of holes in the bladder and rectum—which can lead to chronic medical issues, depression, and isolation among mothers. 88% of girls who give birth before 18 develop this complication that can lead to life-long issues.
Girls in child marriages are not protected from violence but are instead exposed to greater domestic threats. Moreover, girls in child marriages face social and economic hardship. Long standing gender norms are often used to pressure girls into marriage. Families encourage girls to enter into marriages so as to prevent them from committing “shameful acts” that might affect their social status. Girls are also told that they must become wives and mothers. As a result, girls are discouraged from pursuing an education so they can be married. This affects their ability to become a part of the workforce, placing a complete reliance on their husbands to be the financial provider. One study, conducted by the activist group Girls Not Brides, found that girls who enter into child marriages earn a lifetime average of 9% less wages than girls who marry after 18. Girls are also unable to get remarried in the future as they are considered undesirable. Girls who are abandoned by their husbands are left with no means of being independent, thrusting them into extreme poverty and increasing their likelihood of being exploited by others.
The detrimental effects of child marriages are obvious, but what can be done to prevent them in the future? The answer is simpler than one would think. Girls are faced with the choice of pursuing an education or getting married, as marriage requires girls to dedicate all their time to home and child-raising duties which are demanded of them. It is the belief of activists and scholars that if nations prioritize the education of young girls, and work to disincentivize families from forcing young girls to sacrifice their education, it will in turn prevent child marriages. In addition, by encouraging girls under the age of 18 to pursue primary and secondary education, they are able to enter the labor force and provide for themselves. This provides additional protections against furthering poverty but also challenges the strict gender norms that are present within nations with high rates of child marriages. As these norms are challenged, families become less likely to force their daughters into marriage.
