Child Marriage

An often underlooked issue is child marriage. Affecting around 12 million children each year (according to UNICEF), it is defined as when children under 18 are forced into a formal union, whether legal or not. In some places, even children under 10 are forced into marriages.

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The most apparent issue with child marriage is the lack of consent and agency. Many children under 18 can legally be married with parental consent, even if they themselves do not consent. Societal pressures can make it impossible for a child to fight against a marriage. Education is often halted, preventing a child from being able to better their lives, in favor of learning home-making skills. Not only does this prevent a child from receiving a formal education, but it also makes it difficult to gain general life experiences, further trapping the bride in the marriage. It is an incredible challenge for a young bride to return to school. There are extraordinary health risks to consider as well, as early pregnancies can cause many complications to both the health of the bride and the baby. 

 

This issue is most prevalent in India, where a UNICEF study of women between the ages of 20 and 24 found that 10 million of those women were married before the age of 15. India is estimated to make up 40% of all child marriages. Other countries in the top 10 include Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Niger. While it may be easy to call this an issue that only exists in third-world countries, child marriage can be found in the US. According to a study conducted by Unchained at Last, almost 300,000 child marriages occurred between 2000 and 2018. While the number has decreased from 76,396 children in 2000 to 2493 in 2018, it is still not zero.