The global decline of child marriage 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.”

While many boys also leave school in their early teens, it is often to work and support their families. Traditionally, when these boys reach 18, their families seek younger brides for them. BRAC believes that investing in the education of both girls and boys is essential to reducing child marriage.

Nafisa Islam, a BRAC spokesperson, explains:

“By solving the drop-out rate, we should arrest the prevalent problem of child marriage in Bangladesh,”

BRAC employs several strategies to keep children in school. The organization provides stipends to families of primary school girls, reducing the financial strain of education and offering a direct incentive to continue their daughters’ schooling. Schools adjust their hours to meet families’ needs, especially during harvest seasons. BRAC also makes education accessible by locating schools near communities and providing floating boat schools for areas that are flooded or unreachable by road.

However, despite their best efforts, BRAC’s survey found that 60% of families are still practicing child marriage in Bangladesh.

Iraq’s troubling new law

In November The Telegraph reported that Iraq was pushing to amend the country’s “personal status law”. The change would not only lower the legal age of consent from 18 to 9, but also strip women of their rights to divorce, child custody, and inheritance. This week, lawmakers passed the amendments to the law.

According to UNICEF’s 2023 report on child marriage, most countries in the Middle East and North Africa have seen a decline in child marriage over the last 25 years—except Iraq. A loophole in the country’s personal status law previously allowed religious leaders to officiate marriages outside court jurisdiction with the father’s consent. The changes passed on Tuesday will now permit clerics to make rulings based on their interpretation of Islamic law, with some interpretations allowing the marriage of girls as young as nine.

Intisar al-Mayali, a human rights activist and a member of the Iraqi Women’s League, said the amendments:

“will leave disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls, through the marriage of girls at an early age, which violates their right to life as children, and will disrupt the protection mechanisms for divorce, custody and inheritance for women”.

A parliamentary official, speaking anonymously, revealed that half of the lawmakers present did not vote. Following the session, several legislators voiced concerns about the voting process, which bundled three controversial laws together, each supported by different factions. An independent MP stated that while his group strongly supported the civil status law, combining it with the other laws might lead to a legal challenge in federal court.

The fight against child marriage continues

As we witness these troubling setbacks, it’s clear that the fight against child marriage is far from over—and we will not give up. The importance of ending child marriage cannot be overstated. It is a violation of fundamental rights, depriving girls of their childhood, education, and the opportunity to live healthy, empowered lives. Without action, child marriage continues to trap girls in cycles of poverty, abuse, and inequality, undermining their potential and the future of entire communities.

But together, we can make a difference. We urge you to stand with us and join the global fight to protect the girls rights everywhere. Every signature counts in this crucial fight to end modern slavery.