In these 6 countries child marriage is still legal

Child marriage is a violation of the most fundamental human rights and affects girls in every aspect of their lives. In the next decade, 10 million girls are at risk of falling victim to child marriage due to Covid-19. Disruption of education, economic shock, cessation of basic programmes and services, pregnancy and the death of a parent were the five factors that negatively impacted child marriages.

Child marriage, often forced, is associated with adverse events that are suffered primarily by women. These include forced pregnancies, abortions or female sterilization. Women who marry as children have a lower level of education and are more inclined to accept patriarchal gender roles.

Child marriage is defined as any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or other minor. The highest rate of child marriage is found in less developed countries, with 36% of marriages being for girls. Although there is a higher prevalence in these countries, it is estimated that in almost all nations of the world a child under the age of 18 marries an adult or another minor.

Although the third goal of SDG 5 (Gender Equality) includes “eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation”, none of the regions mentioned is on the path to completely eliminating this practice by 2030. Not even in Western Europe and Central Asia, where 94% of countries had made child marriage illegal.

More poverty, less education

According to the report Covid-19 and child marriage: How COVID-19’s impact on hunger and education is forcing children into marriage by World Vision, hunger, access to education and parental support are the three areas affected by the pandemic. In addition, it has been shown that children who are not in school are 3.4 times more likely to end up getting married compared to those who do attend school.

Covid-19 has negatively affected efforts to overcome forced child marriages, causing dire economic consequences. According to several studies, in some countries affected by disasters, the poorest families decide to marry their underage daughters and sons in order to have another source of income or to reduce the economic burden on the household. Girls who marry not only lose their childhood, they often also cut ties with family and friends and take on a domestic role.

School closures left billions of students unable to receive an education, affecting their daily lives and academic progress. Many girls have given up on school altogether, and many more are likely to stay away when schools reopen. Girls who marry not only lose their childhood, they often also cut ties with family and friends and take on a domestic role, as they are prohibited from seeking a job or continuing to attend school.

Six countries, six faces

Her ex-husband, an older man, mistreated and abused her. “I was mistreated and abused by my husband, an older man, and I ran away. When I was lying on the street, crying, a woman helped me and accompanied me to the police station.” This is how she was able to get out of that situation.

Her ex-husband was eventually sentenced to prison and her father ended up abandoning her mother. When this happened, Barira was pregnant, but she didn't know it. Her daughter Jamilla was born and in 2021 she married a man she had met in her neighbourhood.

In Niger, 76% of young girls marry before the age of 18 and 28% before the age of 15. This Sahelian country has the highest prevalence rate of child marriage in the world. Under national legislation, in this African country, the minimum legal age of marriage is 15 for women and 18 for men. However, minors can marry with parental consent.

However, generally, the Rohingya community views child marriage as inadvisable and associated with low status. In Bangladesh, 59% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 22% before the age of 15. It is the fourth country with the highest prevalence of child marriages among girls, and the second country in absolute terms with 4,382,000 child brides.

The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men. However, the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2017 includes a loophole whereby a court can allow “in special cases” – for both boys and girls – child marriage.

There are concerns that this loophole allows female rape victims under 18 to marry their rapists to avoid the stigma and shame associated with the crime.

Financial security is the main reason that Meimouna's family decided to marry her off. “At home, it's a normal thing. My two older sisters got married at 15 and 16, my mother at 10. We are a very poor family, my father died and my mother gets sick easily, so marriage is a security for the whole family.”

She is not just giving up her childhood. Child marriage puts her aspirations at risk: “I think the place for little girls is school, not a husband, at least until they are 18. I would like to learn – I am top of the class! I hope I can study long enough to fulfil my dream of becoming a teacher.”

In Mauritania, 37% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 18% before the age of 15. In this country, child marriage is directly linked to gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys. Under national law, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18, without exception. Women cannot marry without the consent and presence of a guardian (wali) who must be male and Muslim. A woman's silence can be taken as consent.

The minimum legal age for marriage for men and women, without parental consent, is 21. Since September 2019, boys and girls can marry, with parental consent, at the age of 19. It should be noted that parents can ask religious courts or local authorities for permission to marry their daughters earlier, without requiring any minimum age.