CHILD MARRIAGE

INTRODUCTION

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

Although the age of maturity(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.

HISTORY

Before the industrial revolution, in many parts of the world, including India,China and Eastern Europe women tended to marry immediately after reaching puberty, in their mid-teens. Societies where most of the population lived in small agricultural communities were characterized by these marriage practices well into the 19th century. Men tended to marry later in societies where a married couple was expected to establish a household of their own. That usually meant that men remained unmarried until they accumulated sufficient wealth to support a new home, and were married in their mature age to adolescent girls, who contributed a dowry to the family finances.

In ancient and medieval societies, it was common for girls to be betrothed at or even before the age of puberty. According to M.A. Friedman, "arranging and contracting the marriage of a young girl were the undisputed prerogatives of her father in ancient Israel." Most girls were married before the age of 15, often at the start of their puberty. In the Middle Ages the age at marriage seems to have been around puberty throughout the Jewish world.

EFFECTS ON EACH GENDER

Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls, from their health (mental and physical), education and social development perspectives.These consequences last well beyond adolescence.One of the most common causes of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in developing countries was pregnancy and childbirth. In Niger, which is estimated as having the highest rate of child marriage in the world, about 3 in 4 girls marry before their 18th birthday.

Boys are sometimes married as children; UNICEF states that "girls are disproportionately affected by the practice. Globally, the prevalence of child marriage among boys is just one sixth that among girls."Research on the effects of child marriage on underage boys is scant, which researchers state is likely because child marriage involving boys is less common and girls being at risk for adverse health effect as a result of early pregnancy and childbirth.The effects of child marriage on boys include being ill-prepared for certain responsibilities such as providing for the family, early fatherhood, and a lack of access to education and career opportunities.As of September 2014, 156 million living men were married as underage boys.

CONSEQUENCES

Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls that last well beyond adolescence. Women married in their teens or earlier struggle with the health effects of pregnancy at a young age and often with little spacing between children.Early marriages followed by teen pregnancy also significantly increase birth complications and social isolation. In poor countries, early pregnancy limits or can even eliminate a woman's education options, affecting her economic independence. Girls in child marriages are more likely to suffer from domestic violence,child sexual abuse and martial rape

HEALTH

Child marriage threatens the health and life of girls. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the main cause of death among adolescent girls below age 19 in developing countries. Girls aged 15 to 19 are twice as likely to die in childbirth as women in their 20s, and girls under the age of 15 are five to seven times more likely to die during childbirth. These consequences are due largely to girls' physical immaturity wherefore the pelvis and birth canal are not fully developed. Teen pregnancy, particularly below age 15, increases risk of developing obstetric fistula, since their smaller pelvises make them prone to obstructed labor.

ILLITERACY AND POVERTY

Child marriage often ends a girl's education, particularly in impoverished countries where child marriages are common. In addition, uneducated girls are more at risk for child marriage. Girls who have only a primary education are twice as likely to marry before age 18 than those with a secondary or higher education, and girls with no education are three times more likely to marry before age 18 than those with a secondary education. Early marriage impedes a young girl's ability to continue with her education as most drop out of school following marriage to focus their attention on domestic duties and having or raising children.Girls may be taken out of school years before they are married due to family or community beliefs that allocating resources for girls' education is unnecessary given that her primary roles will be that of wife and mother. Without education, girls and adult women have fewer opportunities to earn an income and financially provide for themselves and their children

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Married teenage girls with low levels of education suffer greater risk of social isolation and domestic violence than more educated women who marry as adults.Following marriage, girls frequently relocate to their husband's home and take on the domestic role of being a wife, which often involves relocating to another village or area. This transition may result in a young girl dropping out of school, moving away from her family and friends, and a loss of the social support that she once had.A husband's family may also have higher expectations for the girl's submissiveness to her husband and his family because of her youth. This sense of isolation from a support system can have severe mental health implications including depression.