Child marriage is a social issue of global concern as it hinders socio-economic development and make several sustainable development goals (SDGs) unachievable. It's a major issue in the tribal populated and backward districts of Odisha.

1. The issue of ‘child marriage’
Basudev Mahapatra
Developmental and environmental journalist

2. The issue of child marriage
(or, early forced marriage)
• Every year, millions of girls around the world
become brides before the age of 18. It is also
known as early forced marriage.
• Girls who are required to enter into marriage
at an early age are at greater risk of domestic
violence and abuse.
• They are less likely to be able to escape
poverty.

3. The issue of child marriage
(or, early forced marriage)
• Highest rates of child marriage are found in
Niger (76%), Central African Republic
(68%), Chad (68%), Mali (55%) and
Bangladesh (52%).
• Countries with the highest numbers of child
marriage are
India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil and
Ethiopia.

4. The issue of child marriage
(or, early forced marriage)
• Those having children too young have a
significantly increased risk of health
complications, death in childbirth and infant
mortality.
• As a result of marriage at an early age, their
education gets disrupted either because they
are not permitted to go to school, or because
of early pregnancy.

5. Why the issue needs discussion:
Related SDGs
Child marriages make many sustainable
development goals (SDGs) set by the United
Nations unachievable.
• No Poverty – SDG 1
• Good health and wellbeing – SDG 3
• Quality Education to All – SDG 4
• Gender Equality – SDG 5
• Decent Work and Economic Growth – SDG 8

6. Child marriage: a global concern
• Across the globe, an average of 40,000
children and young women under the age of
18 are married every day.
• This is around 15 million each year.
• More than 60% of child brides in developing
countries have no formal education.

7. Child marriage: a global concern
• More than 700 million women alive were
married before their 18th birthday.
• This is the equivalent of one in 10 of the
world's population.
• Without accelerated efforts to protect
girls, 950 million girls and women would be
affected by child marriage by 2030.

8. Child marriage: economic impact
• Research found a significant economic impact
of child marriage, and shows that ending the
practice could save the global economy
trillions of dollars between now and 2030.
• According to a World Bank - ICRW report, by
2023, India could save $5 billion (over INR
33,500 crore) in healthcare and related costs
if it eliminates child marriage and early
childbirth.

9. The Odisha scene
• NFHS -3 data (2005-06) revealed that 47.4%
women aged 20-24 years were married before
the age of 18.
• However, NFHS-4 data (2015-16) shows a
significant decline to 26.8%, against the national
average of 26.8%.
• Child marriages in tribal populated districts like
Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Mayurbhanj, Koraput,
Rayagada are as high as
39.3%, 37.9%, 35%, 34.7% and 34.4%
respectively.

10. The Odisha scene39.3
37.9
35
34.7
34.4
31.3
29.8
28.1
25.9
25.4
25.3
23.4
23.4
22.2
22.1
22
21.7
19.1
18.1
17.6
15.5
14.7
13.7
12.2
11.8
11.2
9.7
8.5
8.3
6.2
District-wise percentage of Women (20-24 yrs) who married before
18 years of age. Source: NFHS 4 (2015-16)

11. Child marriage: causes
• Poverty: Child marriage is prevalent in
communities where poverty is
widespread, birth and death rates are high
and access to education and healthcare is low.
• Disasters and conflicts: Natural disasters and
armed conflict make girls more vulnerable to
early forced marriage as parents perceive
marriage as a means to protect and help their
daughters.

12. Child marriage: causes
• Social norms and gender inequality: In some
communities, early or child marriage for girls
is a norm. The expectation that a girl’s future
lies with marriage and motherhood limits
opportunities and can lead to the risk of
discrimination and abuses.

13. Child marriage: overall impacts
• Child marriage often disrupts education of
girls.
• In some cases, parents do not allow girls to
go to school once marriage proposal is
finalised.
• Once conducted, child marriage means early
and frequent pregnancies, which lead to
school dropouts or girls being excluded.

14. Child marriage: overall impacts
• Lack of education limits girls’ and women’s
options to improve their circumstances
economically and make better choices.
• Having babies too young causes serious
health issues. Pregnancy and childbirth
complications are among the leading causes
of death in girls aged 15 to 19 in low and
middle-income countries.

15. Child marriage: overall impacts
• Approximately 90% of teenage/ adolescent
pregnancies in the developing world are of
girls who are married, owing to their high
exposure to sex and pressure to conceive
quickly after marriage.
• Every year, 70,000 girls die from causes
related to pregnancy and
childbirth, according to UNICEF.

16. Child marriage: overall impacts
• Child marriage is not just an issue for the
individual.
• Each time a girl misses out on her education
because she is forced into marriage, her
family and country miss out on her potential
contributions – economic and social.

17. Child marriage: legal situation
• In India, a clear and consistent
legislation, PCMA, establishes 18 for a girl
and 21 for a boy as the minimum age of
marriage.
• Although there are provisions of action
against all involved parties in case of a child
marriage, they go unpunished because of
poor execution of law.

18. Child marriage: progress made
• Worldwide, percentage of girls married under
15 has dropped from 12% to 8% in the past
three decades.
• In India and Odisha, there has been some
progress. But the issue is yet to be resolved.
• It needs sustained effort on all fronts to
achieve abolition of child marriage.

19. Efforts needed to end child marriage
• Education can be one of the most powerful
tools to enable girls to avoid child marriage
and fulfil their potential.
• The longer a girl stays in school, the less likely
she is to be married before the age of 18, and
have children during her teenage years.
• When girls have access to safe, quality
education upto secondary level, the benefits
are widely felt.

20. Efforts needed to end child marriage
If all girls had a secondary education,
• There would be 64% fewer marriages and
59% fewer girls would become pregnant
• Girls would have an average of 3.9
children, compared to 6.7 in case of those
with no education
• Under-five mortality rate would fall by
49%, saving around 2.8 million lives
• Girls would better understand their
reproductive health rights and issues.

21. Efforts needed to end child marriage
Protection in times of crisis:
• During natural disasters and conflict, girls
become increasingly likely to marry young or
be forced into marriage.
• Systems should be put in place so that girls
are supported during humanitarian
emergencies.

22. Efforts needed to end child marriage
Make free space for girls and women to interact:
• When girls and women are given a free space to
sit, interact, lead dialogue and initiate
programmes to address child marriage, success is
more likely.
• However, to end child marriage, its causes like
gender inequality, poverty, insecurity, and the
lack of economic and social opportunities for
girls, need to be addressed.

23. Efforts needed to end child marriage
• In order to end child marriage, consistent
efforts from all stakeholders including media
and civil society bodies are essential to
empower girls and women, to mobilise
families and communities to change mindset
and social norms, and to protect the basic
rights of girls.

24. Thank you!
Basudev Mahapatra
Developmental and environmental journalist,
Developmental communication expert