Child marriage is on the decline, but now that is under threat
A 2023 UNICEF report revealed promising progress in the global fight against child marriage. The number of young women aged 20 to 24 who were married as children fell from nearly one in four a decade ago to one in five. The Middle East and North Africa were among the regions expected to continue a steady decline over the next five years. However, a disturbing reversal is underway.
The Guardian recently reported that Iraq’s parliament passed a law permitting marriage for girls as young as nine years old. Meanwhile, a Bangladesh-based NGO revealed to The Telegraph that more than half of families in the country are still practicing child marriage. These alarming developments raise a harrowing question: Are we witnessing the collapse of women’s and children’s rights? The answer is uncertain, but one thing is clear—the fight against child marriage is far from over.
The struggle to end child marriage in Bangladesh
BRAC, a Bangladesh-based charity, plays a vital role in providing primary education to many of the nation’s children. Last year, the organization surveyed 50,000 households across the country and found that 1.5 million primary-aged girls are not in school, largely due to the widespread practice of child marriage.
Bibi Kulsum, a teacher employed at a BRAC school, says:
“It has got better, but most of the girls still get married off too early. During Covid, child marriage was even more prevalent.”[…]“Most of this is caused by poverty. They want to get their girls married off because they feel like they are a burden.”