4 Causes of Child Marriage


Marriage, though it's supposed to be one of the biggest decisions one could make in their life. We often, sadly, see underage girls being forced to tie the knot while being kids themselves. Though it's the romantic relationship every couple would look forward to in their lives, for those young girls it is not. 


This only makes sense as these girls still learn about life when suddenly they are being shoved into something bigger than their capacity of understanding. Sadly, this leads to more cases of girls being sexually exploited before the age of consent, all, under the name of marriage. So what are the root causes of this phenomenon? Below we list some of them. 


1. Poverty- The poor economic situation of a family in the middle-east or some south Asian countries is often one of the main reasons to blame. The family fears their inability to provide for their daughters so they decide that marrying her off is the cure to the disease. Because for them it's easier to raise a boy than to raise a girl.  


For boys, there is the option of working and helping out in the house, but for girls, there is always this notion that they're unable to do anything helpful on their own. That is why the only solution is to look for a husband who is going to take care of them and ease the burden on the family. 


2. Illiteracy - This leads us to the second highly connected cause, the lack of education. Ignorance and illiteracy are one of the major reasons for this problem. As girls are denied the right to education often and therefore the right to have a job and help out in society. They're seen as weak creatures that need to be provided for and are mistreated if they try to prove the opposite. 


Focusing on the importance of education is important for the parents too, as studies show that the percentage of parents who give up their daughters for those marriages are usually on the uneducated side. Therefore, more chances of teaching mean more chances of learning, hence saving lives. 


3. Shame Culture - Sadly and though we're in 2020 already, shame culture is still highly welcomed in the middle-east. And not only in people's minds nope, but it's also welcomed in the law of those countries. So many girls get killed under the claim of "Protecting our honor". Like things get more missed up than that! Many girls come from conservative families. 


This means that fighting back their family, refusing to follow their orders or even trying to break off the marriage once it's done is often faced with them being murdered. And under the law of shame cultures, such crimes are forgiven and the killer is set free. The only sacrifice is the girl who has lost her life for a sin that she didn't even commit. 


In some countries the girls are forced to marry their rapist and to be honest, I can't even bring my mind to imagine how a stable family is going to be formed. Sadly, some girls end up taking their life by committing suicide because this injustice is bigger than what their minds could grasp, and their heart could tolerate. 


4. To Make Money - To make money you have to find a job and work hard. At least that is what we all know and try to do, but for some parents, it is not. They literally sell off their daughters to wealthy elderly men for a certain amount of money, as if those girls are no different than goods being sold in a market. Instead, the market is human trafficking, and denying innocent girls the right to live and choose. 


While feminism and NGOs still fight for those girls' rights, some countries still haven't decided on the legal age of marriage, and others like Jordan list it as 15. Like a 15-year-old is well aware of what sex and starting a family means! To get a car license you'll have to be 18 but to be married 15 is enough, such a despicable law that leaves us speechless.  


Written By - Dana Asnan 

Edited By – Kashish Chadha