On this International Day of the Girl Child, a crucial reminder: Marriage is not for girls

(adapted from my earlier blog on the topic, which sadly required mostly little adapting)

I have a 12-year-old niece*.?When I stop to think that she could, by law, be married in many countries I am appalled.?Although the data may seem shocking in 2022, this is still the harsh reality for millions of girls around the world.

When a young woman marries before the age of 18, she is at greater risk of experiencing domestic violence, in addition to having less mobility and ability to choose.?Her life as well as her future prospects are hampered, and she will likely be left behind.

Historically, child marriage – namely marriage below age 18 – was permitted by law and the norm in most countries.?If we look back to our own family histories, we will surely find that our grandmothers or great-grandmothers got married early, perhaps as late as 13 or 14.?It was common for a girl to marry upon reaching puberty or even before.

A girl married before she has the legal capacity to make her own decisions and has reached full physical, emotional or mental maturity can experience negative consequences, including early pregnancy, abuse and reduced educational opportunities.?These damages affect not only the girl herself, but also their families and communities.?A better understanding of these consequences has been in part a catalyst for change.

Yet to this day, in many parts of the world, child marriage is socially accepted as a ‘solution’ to the cost of educating and caring for girls (daughters) or to ensure her economic security.?Child marriage as a result of early pregnancy or sexual violence is also common and seen as a form of ‘reparation’ or to prevent dishonoring the family.?This is reflected in the laws of several countries that allow girls to marry young in these circumstances.

The practice of child marriage began to be questioned due to three key factors: 1) the increasingly strong understanding, starting in the early 20th century, that children and adolescents should not be equated to adults (who should work and get married, for example), but rather have specific needs and rights (like playing and going to school);?2) the increase in life expectancy;?and 3) the advancement of women's and girls' rights.

In particular, based on international conventions and treaties such as the?Convention on the Rights of the Child ?and the?Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the laws also began to change.?Today, the internationally accepted minimum age for marriage is 18 and a formal or informal union before that age is considered?child marriage .?In turn, marriage is gradually taking place later in some places.?But the law in many places still allows for the practice. Our World Bank research shows that in most countries, even when the legal age is 18 or over, girls can marry below that age with parental consent or court authorization, due to loopholes in the law. In Brazil, my home country, for example, the legal age for marriage is 18, but the law allows it at 16 with parental consent or at any age in case of pregnancy.?There was still until 2019 the possibility of marriage at any age, to avoid the imposition or fulfillment of a criminal sentence (in practice absolve perpetrators of statutory rape).

The good news is that we've made progress.?Many countries have recently raised the legal age to 18 and eliminated loopholes that allowed girls to marry below that age and progress continues in terms of legal reforms.

Yet progress has not been fast enough for the?100 million girls ?around the world who are left unprotected due to loopholes in legislation.?And even when the laws offer some protection, implementation is weak: a total of?20,000 girls ?marry illegally every day before reaching the minimum age allowed with parental consent or court authorization.?In 2017 alone, the number of?illegally married girls in the world would reach 7.5 million .

Indeed, UNICEF data show that globally around 21% of young women were married before their 18th birthday, meaning approximately 650 million girls & women alive today married before 18th birthday. And pre-Covid estimates (March 2020) showed that more than 12 million girls under 18 are married each year. However, the pandemic has increased risks. 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.

Where the law allows the practice, it is encouraged and tends to be more widespread.?Setting the age of marriage at least 18 and closing these gaps is crucial to protecting girls.?But the problem is not solved by the law alone.?Additional policies and interventions are needed to address the causes, including changing social and cultural norms and ensuring that girls have alternatives, such as education and better economic opportunities.

As should every day, this International Day of the Girl Child is an important opportunity to assess and understand the issue of child marriage, its pervasive prevalence and significant impacts.

#internationaldayofthegirlchild #genderequality

*As of 2017, when the original blog was published