Early Marriage in South Asia Essay

premature marri get on affects millions of new-fangledsterren through the world. It is widely praxisd in the countries of South Asia where every year millions of unripe womans-preteens and teens- become the wives of senior men. Young misfires be unite when they ar stable children and as a result be denied fundamental humane rights. Early nuptials compromises their development and a great deal results in archeozoic pregnancy and social isolation, with little grooming and poor vocational training reinforcing the g blockadeered spirit of poverty. Required to perform heavy amounts of domesticated work, under pressure to demonstrate fertility, married misfires and child m differents view constrained decision-making and muffled life choices. Both male childs and missys be affected by child marri bestride provided the issue impacts young ladys in far larger lists, with more intensityand is wide ranging.1Early marri snip, better cognize as child marriold age, is defined as uniting carried below the age of 18 long while, forward the daughter is physically, physiologically and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of espousals and child bearing2. Many factors interact to spot a child at essay of conglutination. P arnts encourage the mating of their little girls while they ar restrained children in hopes that the sum will benefit them both financially and socially, while in addition relieving financial hitchs on the family. conceptive correlational statisticss in the midst of a womans age at brotherhood and the level of preparation she achieves, the age at which she lay downs extradite to her first child and the age of her husband have been well documented. Early marriage means also the individual becomes versedly bustling previous(predicate), raising children while children themselves. The marriage of a preteen girl affects non solo her life but that of the children she will bear.Early marriage is by no means a new phenomenon.3 It is a socially established practice that has been carried on from generation to generation. This is condescension the existence of international and regional instruments that all the States in South Asia have ratified. Governments in the region also settled upon 18 as the minimum legal age at marriage. However, they are ofttimes both unable to enforce existing justices, or rectify discrepancies amongst national laws and customary and religious laws. more or little often, child marriage is considered as a family matter and governed by religion and culture, which warrant its continuity. It remains thence a widely ignored violation of the rights of girls and women and exposes them to multiple risks, including to intimate abuse and exploitation.Compiled from a study undertaken by Mira, B. AGHI, this paper examines early marriage in the region in order to murderer information for outline and discussion.The Prevalence Of Early Marriage In So uth AsiaIt is very difficult to get accurate entropy on the true extent of early marriages. This is because most marriages are not dispatchicially registered, and umpteen parents utilize to falsifying girls ages. Such acts are made easier in countrified areas where cause certificates are often non-existent or not properly recorded. in that respect is also very little data on girls married onwards the age of 15. Available data are often outdated and fail to provide adequate information. Although early marriage is said to be declining in many parts of the world, the total number of girls at risk or affected is very earthshaking and cannot be ignored. It is estimated there are worldwide more than 51 million adolescent girls aged 1519 who are married and bearing the burden of domestic responsibility and the risks associated with early inner activity, including pregnancy.4 In South Asia in 2005, 48% (nearly 10 million) of materialisation women were married sooner the age of 1 85.Figure 1Child marriage, 1987 2006.(% of women 20-24 years of age that were married or in union in the first place they were 18 years old) picDespite a shift towards later marriages in many parts of the world, in the countries of South Asia a majority of girls still marry before age 18 (65% in Bangladesh, 57% in Nepal, 54% in Afghanistan, and almost 50% in India). One worry in assessing the prevalence of early marriages is that many are unregistered and unofficial and hence, are not a part of any data collection system. Very little data exists on marriages of children under the age of 10, even less on those below that age6.Some countries do have data. According to Bangladeshs demographic and wellness travel along of 1996-1997, there are 28 million adolescents in Bangladesh, 13.7% of these are girls, and the survey account that more than half the girls below 19 were married and 5% of 10-14 year old girls were married. other survey of women 25-29 years old reported that in Bangladesh 81% were married before the age of 188. The lowest age at marriage is to be found in the western and southern parts of Bangladesh specifically those near India. In India, more than 57 per cent of girls are reported to get married before they change shape 18.According to the Reproductive and Child Health District Level Household Survey, 28% girls overall, with 34.5% in rural and 13% in urban areas, are being married before they turned 18. According to a Rapid Household survey conducted across the country, 58.9% women in Bihar were married before the age of 18, 55.8% in Rajasthan, 54.9% in West Bengal, 53.8 % in Utter Pradesh, and 53.2% in Madhya Pradesh. National Family Health Survey data suggests that the median age for marriage in India is 16.4 years. This survey also found that 65% of the girls are married by the time they are 18.9There are additional surveys like ane in 1993 which reported that in the Indian state of Rajasthan, on 5,000 women 56% had married before age 15, and of these, 17% were married before they were 10.10 Another report indicated that nearly 14% of the girls in Indias largest state (Uttar Pradesh) are married between the ages of 10-14 years, whereas in the central province of Madhya Pradesh, 11% of urban and 16.4% of rural girls are married between the ages of 10-14 years.11In Nepal, the law has helped in increasing the age at marriage. However, the data which included female marriages at all ages showed that ethnicity is the major factor of age at marriage in Nepal. The ethnic groups are mostly concentrated in the Terai region, which borders India, and where the cultural norms and practices are steeply influenced by the culture of marriage India. In contrast to other groups, peculiarly in the mountain region, women belonging to the Terai groups are generally confined to farming they exercise comparatively less control over the economic resources and decision-making.The most notable data from Nepal is 83.1% of girls of some ethnic groups marry before they are 15 years old. 79.6% Muslim girls marry before they are 15 years old. 69.7% girls in the mountainous and hilly regions marry at the age of 15 whereas 55.7% in rural Nepal marry before they turn 15.12 Earlymarriage is more vulgar in Surkhet district of mid-western Nepal.13 One of the findings of the study is that high caste girls do not feel the pressure to marry at a very young age and while they are in primary school. But when they reach 13 years, pressure is regurgitate on them especially if they fail their school exams. If they are doing well their parents will often let them abide with their stu dashs. Lower caste girls have more than higher(prenominal) pressure and less choice.14A survey of adults 25-29 years old revealed that in Pakistan 37% of the girls were married before the legal age, which at the time was16.15 In Pakistan, as in other countries of South Asia, early marriage is more harsh in rural areas. excessively people s ustenance in rural areas observe traditions more closely than those who live in urban areas.Causes Of Early MarriageMany reasons are given by parents and guardians to justify child marriage. Economic reasons often underpin these decisions which are directly linked to poverty and the lack of economic opportunities for girls in rural areas. Girls are either seen as an economic burden or encouraged as capital for their exchange value in terms of goods, money or livestock. A combination of cultural, traditional and religious arguments also justifies child marriage. The fear and stigma attached to premarital sex and bearing children extraneous marriage, and the associated family honor, are often seen as valid reasons for the actions that families take. Finally, many parents tend to curtail the education of their girls and marry them off, due to fear of exposure to sexual violence and abuse encountered.Early marriage as a scheme for economic reasonsPoverty is one of the major factors u nderpinning early marriage. In many of the cases, the families are in poverty and one less female child is one less mouth to feed. Poor families may regard young girls as an economic burden and the practice of early marriage, as an act of unburdening and a coping strategy. When poverty is acute, a young girls presence in the house is felt as unbearable and her marriage to a lots former(a) or even elderly man who can pay a very high price may be seen in her interest. Child marriage is valued as an economic coping strategy which reduces the costs of raising daughters. In this sense, poverty becomes a primary reason for child marriage because of perceived benefits to the family and the daughter.Ethnicity/culture has emerged as the most complex reason for girls early marriages. In fact at some come to the fores like the Terai region in Nepal, where the cultural norms and practices are highly influenced by the culture of north India, it has emerged even fonder than the socio-econ omic factors.16 It has been observed that ethnicity affects not only the age of marriage but the timing of family formation and creation into conveyhood. Marriage arrangements and requirements, such as dowry payments in parts of South Asia where parents of the young woman are obliged to give gifts to the spouse and his family, perpetuate child marriages. This is because the dowry requirement often increases with the age and the education level of the girl. Additionally, poor families tend to marry off girls at the same time to help reduce the burden of high marriage ceremony expenses17.However, child brides are often more likely to possess domestic violence and least likely to take action against this abuse. The majority of affected girls become condemned to a life of financial and social insecurity. This is a real paradox for many parents, given that they marry off their daughters at a young age in the belief that this will enhance the girls and the familys security. Poverty u ltimately fuels child marriage, which in turn perpetuates the feminization of poverty.In many closures that practice child marriage in Tamil Nadu State in India for example, girls are married off before they attain puberty because of the social stigma the community attaches to marriage after puberty. Many such marriages end in divorce. In case there is a large ages difference, the girls become widows at a young age. Custom forbids divorced or widowed women to remarry, further impoverishing them. Entrenched community norms and myths clear help to perpetuate the practice of child marriage and cerebrate poverty.Son preference is very powerful in many communities in South Asia, which may not be unrelated to the expenses involved when marrying off a daughter. The rising costs of marriage ceremonies force many families to marry their daughters at the same time to reduce costs. Boys forced into marriage early may also suffer financially. Economic responsibilities can place heavy burden s on them and curtail their education sooner than they might want. However, while boys can leave their wives at their parents homes and seek employment opportunities elsewhere, this option is not available to the majority of young wives18.Marriage alliances and traditionsOften marriage arrangements are made between families for dynastic, business, property or conflict resolutions. In Pakistan, India and Nepal, children may be betroth or even married while toddlers or well below the age of 10. This custom is a means of consolidating powerful relations between families, making deals over land or other property, or settling disputes in the way routinely conducted between royal houses and aristocratic families throughout history. It may be a way of maintaining or fostering business ties with them. It may also be arranged as apart of the deal to settle a feud between two families.19Early marriage as a way to ensure the protection of girlsEarly marriage is also one way to ensure that a w ife is protected or placed firmly under male control that she is pliant to her husband and works hard for her in-laws household that the children she bears are legitimate and that bonds of affection between couples do not undermine the family unit.20 It has been observed that in child marriages there is invariably a large gap between married women and their husbandsbetween 7-9 years.21 The customary age difference helps to preserve the traditional cultural pattern of an older husband dominating a much younger wife.Social pressure appears to play a significant role in the girl getting married early. If girls remain unmarried by 15, neighbors, villagers and relatives begin to doubtfulness her chastity and health. Parents are under huge pressure not to give a chance to the connection to pass any aspersion on their girls.Early marriage is often a way of ensuring that the daughter is not at risk of losing her virginity in an irregular sexual encounter.22 For many communities, the loss of virginity in girls before marriage is the worst shame that can be brought upon a family. The desire to protect a girls virginity drives many parents to force their daughters into marriage at an extremely young age. For this reason and to control girls sexuality, girls are married to prevent pre-marital sex or pregnancy. Once it is known in the village that a girl had pre-marital sexual relationship, it could be quite difficult to find a suitable boy who will be willing to marry her. Therefore parents willingly/unwillingly arrange early marriages to vitiate such unpleasant situations.In rural communities, fetching water and firewood are usually chores undertaken by young girls. There is frequently a serious fear of their being raped.23 The rape will be waste with enormous implications for the girl. In many communities the rape is not considered to be a crime against a girl but against her father, husband, or brothers.Situations of insecurity and acute poverty, particularly duri ng disasters such as war, famine or the human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS epidemic, can prompt parents to resort to child marriage as a protective tool or survival strategy. Among some populations which have been disrupted by war (Afghanistan), marrying a young daughter to a warlord or someone who can look after her may be a strategy for physical security or family support. In the worst cases, girls are abducted or kidnapped by armed militia or rebels and forced into temporary marriages which amount to a combination of child prostitution and pure slavery. Displaced populations living in refugee camps may feel unable to protect their daughters from rape, and so marriage to a warlord or other authority figure may provide improved protection.24Consequences Of Early MarriageThe consequences of child marriage are often far wider than just their impact on the individual children affected. The marriage of children has negative effects on families and communities. The practice thrives on poverty and impacts adversely on a countrys health and education sector.Young girls are forced to marry men they have never met before and who may be many years older than they are. Once married, they are responsible for looking after their husbands, the house, and the children they give birth to while still children themselves. This is one of the reasons that offspring born too early in their mothers lives are at increased risk of illness and death. These girls often have little knowledge about the responsibilities of being a wife and no information about sex and childbirth.25 Early forced sex as a violation of rights where a girl is married has not been recognized as a form of sexual abuse except where warlords or traffickers have recruited girls as sexual slaves.26Early marriage is associated with a number of poor social and physical outcomes for young women and their offspring.27 They attain lower schooling, lower social status in their husbands families, have less reproduct ive control, and suffer higher evaluate of maternal mortality and domestic violence. They are often forced out of school without an education, their health is affected because their bodies are too immature to give birth.Child marriage impedes the Millennium Development remnants (agreed by governments and the international community in September 2000). terminal 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. terminal 2 Achieve universal primary education. Goal 3 Promote gender equality and empower women. Goal 4 Reduce child mortality. Goal 5 Improve maternal health. Goal 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Health and related outcomesThe younger the boy or the girl is at the time of marriage, the worse is the abuse of child and human rights, both on grounds of lack of consent and on grounds of forced early sex. However, the implications for the females are much more severe. The younger the girl at the time of her first sexual relations with early sex much more frequen t and less likely to be consensual deep down marriage than removed marriage the greater the chance of severe fuss, physical damage, and of birthing complications and injury.Pregnancy and childbirthIt is common sense to assume that girls who marry before 18 will usually have more children. Early child-bearing has long been seen as a risk to maternity, contributing significantly to large families. Since girls who are married young have a large number of child bearing years, they are more prone to miscarriage, sister death, malnutrition, cervical cancer, sterility, and maternal death. Even when girls are closer to the age of 18 but not barely that age, the risk remains. Girls between age 15 and 19 are twice as likely to die of pregnancy-related reasons as women between age 20 and 24. Child marriage is the leading cause of young women between the ages of 15 and 24 dying during pregnancy.Figure 4Percentage of women age 15- 19 who have begun vaginal birthSelected countries in South Asia, 2004-2006picNot only the mothers but offspring born too early in their mothers lives are at increased risk of illness and death. The babies of child brides are sicker, weaker and many do not survive childhood. Evidence shows that infant mortality among children of very young mothers is almost two times higher than among those of older peers. The health problems linked to early marriage not only affect the pregnant mother but also continue after child birth. Complications are more likely during pregnancy and birth purely because of the mothers young age.A large proportion of reproductive and sexual health concerns of adolescent girls and women root from early marriage and early pregnancy. In the context of reproductive health girl spouses face well-acknowledged risks. These include the problem of giving birth when the pelvis and birth canal are still under-developed which leads to an increased risk of complications during oral communication including protracted labor.28 Mother s aged less than 15 are especially undefended to fistulae relentless pressure from babys skull can damage the birth canal causing breakages in the wall. A girl or a woman with this condition irreversible without surgery is not only in constant pain but will be socially ostracized and may well be divorced because of this.29The perils of child marriage are not limited to only health complications during pregnancy and delivery period but in many cases during post-natal period as well. Because of the prolapsed uterus, they suffer from backaches, experience difficulties while walking, work and sitting for a long time. At times they had to give birth even after prolapsed uterus and this made the situation worse for them. 30Child brides cannot negotiate the terms of sex with husbands who are usually older and have had previous sexual partners.31 They cannot insist on fidelity or condom use.32 Research in India (Calcutta) revealed that almost half of the women patients in the hospital interviewed had been married at or below the age of 15 with the youngest being married at 7 years. This age group has one of the highest rates of vulnerability to sexual violence in marriage, second only to those whose dowry had not been paid. The women had forced sexual intercourse before menstruation had started. The sex was early and painful and many still continued to be forced into sexual activity by their husbands. Although young girls had made their husbands aware of their unwillingness to have sex or of pain during sex, in 80% of these cases, the rapes continued.33Increased risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIVEarly marriage threatens girls health and the health of their children and thwarts efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. Of substantial consequences, yet largely ignored, is the fact that the majority of the sexually active girls aged 15-19 in South Asia are married and these adolescent girls tend to have higher rates of HIV infection than their sexually act ive unmarried peers. Early sexual activity within marriage is even more likely to expose young people to sexually transmitted infections than sex outside marriage.34Crossing the threshold into marriage greatly intensifies sexual exposure via exposed sex, often with an older partner, who by virtue of his age has an elevated risk of being HIV positive. This dramatic rise in the frequency of unprotected sex is driven by not only the implication of infidelity or apprehension associated with certain forms of contraception such as condoms, but often also by a strong desire to become pregnant. Demographic and health survey data reveals that on an average 80% of unprotected sex encounters among adolescent girls occurred within marriage. Not only are married adolescents girls often isolated within their new households and from external public and private support but their needs have not been prioritized or sometimes even considered in current reproductive health initiatives. Moreover many o f the most common HIV/AIDS policies and messages are not appropriate for them.35Denial of educationIt is believed that investment in a girls education is wasted when she simply going to be married and work in another household.36 Girls reported that even if married girls are allowed to pursue their education, they cannot continue for too long because of the wide-ranging burdens imposed on her by early childbearing and the chores in the house. An important reason why girls in South Asia do not go to school or are withdrawn at puberty is for the assumption of domestic duties and confinement at home as prelude to marriage. Lack of exposure outside the immediate home environment means lower self-esteem, less sense of identity as an main(a) person with an independent mind, reduced socialization with peers and non-family adults, and considerably less knowledge of what early marriage entails.37There is a clear connection between early marriage and low educational attainment. Early marriag e puts the young girl at a disadvantage by the loss of educational opportunity. Often girls are not allowed to go to school which diminishes her opportunity to acquire critical life skills. Children benefit as much as their families, since a school-going child has been observed to be an agent of change in rural societies.38 A girl who is educated will most likely educate her daughter and thus establishes an inter-generational trend of educating girls. Besides, the correlation between the number of years of a girls schooling and the postponement of marriage is shown to be firmly established by demographic and fertility studies36. A one year postponement of marriage increases schooling by 0.32 years and literacy by 5-10%.39