CHILD MARRIAGE

Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child and an adult or another child under a certain age, typically age eighteen.The vast majority of child marriages are between a girl and a man, and are rooted in gender inequality.

Although the age of majority (legal adulthood) and marriageable age are usually designated at age 18, both vary across countries and therefore the marriageable age may be older or younger in a given country. Even where the age is set at 18 years, cultural traditions may override legislation and many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with parental consent or in special circumstances, such as teenage pregnancy.

While the prevalence of child marriage has decreased worldwide – from one in four girls married a decade ago to approximately one in five today – the practice remains widespread. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 100 million girls were expected to marry before their eighteenth birthday in the next decade. Now, up to 10 million more girls will be at risk of becoming child brides as a result of the pandemic.

Child marriage robs girls of their childhood and threatens their lives and health. Girls who marry before 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school. They have worse economic and health outcomes than their unmarried peers, which are eventually passed down to their own children, further straining a country’s capacity to provide quality health and education services.

Child brides often become pregnant during adolescence, when the risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth increases – for themselves and their infants. The practice can also isolate girls from family and friends and exclude them from participating in their communities, taking a heavy toll on their physical and psychological well-being.

Because child marriage impacts a girl’s health, future and family, it imposes substantial economic costs at the national level, too, with major implications for development and prosperity.

let girls be girls,not bride

early marriage is harmful is for teenage.

marriages are not for teenagers.

childhood is not for motherhood.

child marriages are social evil.

avoid child marriages,prevent child hood.

educate your children for better future and say not to child marriage