South Asia has world’s highest number of child brides, says UN report
1 year, 11 months ago

South Asia has world’s highest number of child brides, says UN report

Firstpost  

New Delhi: Fresh data released by the UNICEF on Wednesday revealed that South Asia has the highest number of child brides globally as increased financial costs and closure of educational institutions due to the Covid-19 pandemic forced poor families with little or no income to marry off their young daughters. “The fact that South Asia has the highest child marriage burden in the world is nothing short of tragic,” said Noala Skinner, UNICEF’s regional director for South Asia, in a statement calling for an end to the unfair practice. A new study by the UNICEF that also included interviews and discussions across 16 locations in Bangladesh, India and Nepal found that many parents saw marriage as the best option for daughters who had limited options to study during the Covid-19 induced lockdowns in the subcontinent. The agency added that potential solutions identified in discussions include enacting social protection measures to counter poverty, protecting every child’s right to education, ensuring an adequate framework to enforce the law and making more efforts to address social norms.

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History of this topic

I Grew Up Surrounded By Child Brides. Here’s What I Found So Haunting.
1 month, 1 week ago

I Grew Up Surrounded By Child Brides. Here’s What I Found So Haunting.

Huff Post  

12 million girls are married each year before the age of 18. Fiordaliso via Getty Images Last November, Colombia passed a law prohibiting child marriage, giving 10.3 million girls the chance to reclaim their childhoods. When I read the news, I felt a rush of emotions — relief, hope and the bittersweet ache of what might have been for so …

Odisha Reports 8,159 Child Marriages in 8 Years: Dy CM
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Odisha Reports 8,159 Child Marriages in 8 Years: Dy CM

Deccan Chronicle  

Bhubaneswar: Despite ongoing efforts to curb child marriage, Odisha continues to witness a significant number of cases, with 8,159 instances reported over the last six years, according to official data presented in the state Assembly. In a written response, Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida revealed that Nabarangpur district has recorded the highest number of child marriages, with 1,347 cases. …

Over 6,500 adolescent girls die giving birth every year across South Asia: Study
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Over 6,500 adolescent girls die giving birth every year across South Asia: Study

Deccan Chronicle  

Kathmandu: Every year, nearly 6,500 adolescent girls in South Asia die giving birth and most of them are minors who have limited power over their reproductive health or lives, according to a joint analysis done by UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA. At the two-day Regional Dialogue on Adolescent Pregnancy in South Asia, which concluded here on Friday, the SAARC countries, UNICEF …

WHO concerned over teenage pregnancies
8 months, 2 weeks ago

WHO concerned over teenage pregnancies

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: Almost 6 million teenage girls, aged 15 to 19, give birth annually in the South East Asia Region, including India, said the World Health Organisation on Thursday. The WHO said adolescent pregnancy is closely linked to child marriage: a common harmful practice in the region, driven by underlying social, cultural, and gender norms. Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director …

Countries in Asia are spending millions to reverse falling fertility rates. But throwing money at the issue isn't working
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Countries in Asia are spending millions to reverse falling fertility rates. But throwing money at the issue isn't working

ABC  

The country with the lowest fertility rate in the world is considering paying parents 100 million won in cash for each baby born. "Through this survey, we plan to re-evaluate the country's birth promotion policies to determine whether direct financial subsidies could be an effective solution," the commission said. Japan proposes student loans and more childcare The next few years …

Is not having kids selfish? Some women in countries with the world's lowest fertility rates think otherwise
1 year ago

Is not having kids selfish? Some women in countries with the world's lowest fertility rates think otherwise

ABC  

Aoife Yi was just a child when she knew she didn't want her own kids. She says that's because of the "prices" women may pay to become a mother in China — and not just financially. Ahead of elections in April, South Korea's major political parties vowed more public housing and easier loans to encourage childbirth, aiming to allay fears …

South Korean marriages crash 40% in just 10 years
1 year ago

South Korean marriages crash 40% in just 10 years

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. According to data from the December 2023 Population Trends …

South Asia has world’s highest number of child brides, says UN
1 year, 11 months ago

South Asia has world’s highest number of child brides, says UN

Al Jazeera  

There are 290 million child brides in the region, accounting for 45 percent of the global total, UNICEF says. South Asia is home to the highest number of child brides in the world as increased financial pressures and school closures due to COVID-19 forced families to marry off their young daughters, according to new estimates released by UNICEF. There were …

South Korea has so few babies it is offering new parents $10,500
1 year, 11 months ago

South Korea has so few babies it is offering new parents $10,500

Al Jazeera  

South Korean parents are being showered with cash, but experts say money alone will not fix the country’s fertility woes. “It’s good that the government provides some support for families who already know they want kids but there are other factors to consider when it comes to tackling the low birth-rate problem.” With the world’s lowest birth rate, South Korea …

Explained | How is India planning to end child marriage?
2 years, 4 months ago

Explained | How is India planning to end child marriage?

The Hindu  

The story so far: The steering committee of a global programme to end child marriage is on a visit to India to witness state interventions which have helped reduce the prevalence of child marriage. Eight States have a higher prevalence of child marriage than the national average — West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura top the list with more than 40% …

End the cycle of child marriages with empowerment, education and employment
2 years, 5 months ago

End the cycle of child marriages with empowerment, education and employment

Hindustan Times  

Eradicating child marriages and enabling girls to study longer and gainfully join the labour force is key to India’s future development, including its Covid-19 recovery, and overall economic transformation. India has made great strides in reducing child marriages and advancing women’s education and empowerment. The flagship programme of the Government of India, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, has also helped address …

Child marriage rises among Yemen’s girls and boys over seven-year war
2 years, 8 months ago

Child marriage rises among Yemen’s girls and boys over seven-year war

The Independent  

When Fatimah Ali’s father stopped her from attending school she became withdrawn. A researcher in Houthi-controlled Sana’a who has studied gender-based violence for nearly 15 years and who cannot be named for security reasons, said early marriage has gone up since 2015 for girls and boys. In 1999 Yemen’s parliament abolished article 15 of Yemen’s Personal Status Law, which set …

Teen murder charge shows ‘gaps’ in Malaysia’s treatment of girls
2 years, 10 months ago

Teen murder charge shows ‘gaps’ in Malaysia’s treatment of girls

Al Jazeera  

Experts say the handling of the 15-year-old’s case has failed to adequately recognise her as a child and rape victim. The intimately harrowing nature of the case shocked many in Malaysia and once again brought public attention to the country’s high rate of teen pregnancies and related issues – including restrictive reproductive laws, statutory rape and child marriage. “There are …

Afghans ‘selling off babies’ as child marriage booms amid starvation and economic collapse
3 years, 4 months ago

Afghans ‘selling off babies’ as child marriage booms amid starvation and economic collapse

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Unicef, the UN’s agency for children, claimed there were …

Child Marriage Kills Over 60 Girls a Day Globally and Six Daily in South Asia: Report
3 years, 5 months ago

Child Marriage Kills Over 60 Girls a Day Globally and Six Daily in South Asia: Report

News 18  

Child marriage kills more than 60 girls a day globally and six girls a day in South Asia, according to a new analysis released on International Day of the Girl Child that claimed over an estimated 22,000 girls a year are dying from pregnancy and childbirth resulting from child marriage. The report by Save The Children said South Asia sees …

Child marriage kills over 60 girls a day globally; six girls daily in South Asia, says 'Save The Children' report
3 years, 5 months ago

Child marriage kills over 60 girls a day globally; six girls daily in South Asia, says 'Save The Children' report

Firstpost  

New Delhi: Child marriage kills more than 60 girls a day globally and six girls a day in South Asia, according to a new analysis released on the International Day of the Girl Child that claimed over an estimated 22,000 girls a year are dying from pregnancy and childbirth resulting from child marriage. Child marriage kills more than 60 girls …

About 50% rise in child marriage cases in 2020; experts say more reporting may be a factor
3 years, 6 months ago

About 50% rise in child marriage cases in 2020; experts say more reporting may be a factor

India Today  

About 50 per cent rise in the cases of child marriages has been recorded in 2020 over the previous year, according to the recent NCRB data, with experts saying it does not only mean there has been an increase in these instances but that there also has been a rise in reporting. According to the National Crime Records Bureau data …

Child marriages increase during pandemic due to struggling economic conditions, report says
3 years, 9 months ago

Child marriages increase during pandemic due to struggling economic conditions, report says

ABC  

After Mai married her husband at 17 years old, she was told by her in-laws she should no longer sing. Key points: Many girls drop out of school after being forced to marry Reasons for child marriages include poverty and cultural practices Twelve million girls under 18 are married each year, according to UNICEF Mai was a talented singer who …

Rising cases of child marriage a concern in Pakistan
3 years, 10 months ago

Rising cases of child marriage a concern in Pakistan

Live Mint  

In 2020, 119 cases of child marriages were reported in Pakistan, of which 95 per cent were of girls and five per cent were of boys. According to UNICEF, 21 per cent girls get married before the age of 18 in Pakistan, of which three per cent are married off before they turn 15. According to a recent report, the …

The financial burden of weddings on India’s poorest families
4 years, 1 month ago

The financial burden of weddings on India’s poorest families

Al Jazeera  

A culture of extravagance and exploitative practices force brides’ families to spend beyond their means – but change could be under way. “Indian weddings are more about showing off one’s wealth and status and not really about the institution,” says Veena Trikha, 55, a schoolteacher whose son married last year. According to Sunita, whose family faced crippling dowry demands, girls …

Many African, Asian families marry off daughters amid virus
4 years, 3 months ago

Many African, Asian families marry off daughters amid virus

Associated Press  

KOIDU, Sierra Leone — The man first caught a glimpse of Marie Kamara as she ran with her friends past his house near the village primary school. It’s a mindset that Sierra Leone’s first lady, Fatima Maada Bio, knows first hand and has been working to change with her “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign since her husband took office in …

The economics of India’s high prevalence of child brides
4 years, 5 months ago

The economics of India’s high prevalence of child brides

Live Mint  

The government is considering raising the minimum legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, to reduce the prevalence of child brides in India. Between female foeticide skewing the sex ratio at birth and son-preferring couples investing fewer resources in the care of daughters than sons, more males survive to traditional marriage age than females in India. When …

17.26 Million Married Children and Adolescents in 10-19 Age Group Present in India: CRY
4 years, 5 months ago

17.26 Million Married Children and Adolescents in 10-19 Age Group Present in India: CRY

News 18  

New Delhi: There are 17.26 million married children and adolescents within the age group of 10-19 years in India, child rights NGO CRY said in a new study, highlighting the burden of under-age marriage plaguing the country. “With a huge burden of under-age marriage – 17.26 million married children and adolescents within the age group of 10-19 years or 7 …

17.26 million married children, adolescents in 10-19 age group present in India: Report
4 years, 5 months ago

17.26 million married children, adolescents in 10-19 age group present in India: Report

Live Mint  

New Delhi: There are 17.26 million married children and adolescents within the age group of 10-19 years in India, child rights NGO CRY said in a new study, highlighting the burden of under-age marriage plaguing the country. "With a huge burden of under-age marriage - 17.26 million married children and adolescents within the age group of 10-19 years or 7 …

How School Girls From This Uttar Pradesh Village Stopped Child Marriages During the Pandemic
4 years, 6 months ago

How School Girls From This Uttar Pradesh Village Stopped Child Marriages During the Pandemic

News 18  

It was a phone call that saved 13-year-old Preeti from becoming a child bride. The 13-year-old goes to Pardada Pardadi Educational Society’s Inter College, an all-girls school in Uttar Pradesh that teaches its 1,500 students on how to be a feminist. That is why we offer these benefits so it acts as a driving force for parents to continue sending …

Coronavirus despair forces girls across Asia into child marriage
4 years, 6 months ago

Coronavirus despair forces girls across Asia into child marriage

Al Jazeera  

Thousands of girls are being forced into marriage by desperate families plunged into poverty because of the pandemic. Tens of thousands of girls across Asia are being forced into child marriage by desperate families plunged into poverty because of the coronavirus pandemic, as campaigners warn that years of progress tackling the practice is being undone. Families are barely able to …

How child ‘love marriages’ in Nepal have become curse for girls
5 years, 2 months ago

How child ‘love marriages’ in Nepal have become curse for girls

Al Jazeera  

A growing number of Nepali teenagers are marrying young by choice despite child marriage outlawed about 50 years ago. Nepal has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage even though the practice was banned about 50 years ago and the legal marrying age is 20. Such marriages are declining but child rights activists warn an increasing number of …

Indonesia raises minimum age for marriages in a bid to end child brides
5 years, 6 months ago

Indonesia raises minimum age for marriages in a bid to end child brides

ABC  

"I had my first child at 14, a little boy, and I was destroyed," Indonesian woman Rasminah, who goes by one name, told the ABC. Key points: The legal age to marry in Indonesia has been raised to 19 However, activists say there are still cultural issues which remain unaddressed Indonesia has one of the highest rates of child marriages …

Child marriage figures stand at 765 million: UNICEF
5 years, 9 months ago

Child marriage figures stand at 765 million: UNICEF

The Hindu  

An estimated 115 million boys and men around the world were married as children, UNICEF said on Friday in its first ever in-depth analysis of child grooms. Using data from 82 countries, the study reveals that child marriage among boys is prevalent across a range of countries around the world, spanning sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, …

India records 51% decline in child marriages and 63% decline in teen motherhoods since 2000: Global Childhood Report 2019
5 years, 9 months ago

India records 51% decline in child marriages and 63% decline in teen motherhoods since 2000: Global Childhood Report 2019

Op India  

In the last few years, various reforms have led India to script various success stories. The Global Report on Childhood 2019 published by an NGO called Save the Children, has appreciated India’s performance in reducing child marriages and improving indicators related to child health, giving us another reason to feel proud. An excerpt from the report reads, “India has greatly …

Teenage marriages down by 51% in India since 2000: report
5 years, 10 months ago

Teenage marriages down by 51% in India since 2000: report

The Hindu  

The number of girls in India in the age group of 15-19 years who are currently married is down 51% since 2000 and 63% since 1990, and the country’s average performance across a set of indicators related to child health, education, labour, marriage and violence has improved, a new report has said. According to the Global Childhood Report released by …

Forgotten Women: How a child bride left her abusive husband in the nation with the highest rate of underage marriage
6 years ago

Forgotten Women: How a child bride left her abusive husband in the nation with the highest rate of underage marriage

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “My mum told me that my uncle had given …

Too young to wed: Poverty and hunger are driving up numbers of child brides in South Sudan
6 years, 1 month ago

Too young to wed: Poverty and hunger are driving up numbers of child brides in South Sudan

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Veronica was just three years …

Child marriage widespread in Bihar, Rajasthan and Bengal: Unicef report
6 years, 1 month ago

Child marriage widespread in Bihar, Rajasthan and Bengal: Unicef report

India Today  

Although child marriages in India have declined, a few states like Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan continue to carry on with the harmful practice and there is nearly 40 per cent prevalence in these states, the Unicef said. A new report 'Factsheet Child Marriages 2019' released by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund late on Monday stated that while …

1 in 5 women married before their 18th birthday globally: Facts
6 years, 1 month ago

1 in 5 women married before their 18th birthday globally: Facts

India Today  

When a girl is forced to marry as a child, she faces immediate and lifelong consequences. 10 key facts on child brides: Worldwide, an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married before their 18th birthday. Increasing rates of girls’ education, proactive government investments in adolescent girls, and strong public messaging around the illegality of child marriage and …

UNICEF child reporters save Class 9 schoolmate from child marriage in Jamshedpur
6 years, 3 months ago

UNICEF child reporters save Class 9 schoolmate from child marriage in Jamshedpur

Hindustan Times  

A group of class-9 girls from state- Interestingly, the group of UNICEF’s child reporters also included Laxmi Karmakar from nearby Rahedih village who was saved from the menace of child marriage by same group when they were in class-8. Rabni’s father Indu Tudu said in their community girls are married off at tender age and hence he had fixed his …

World Bank report says child marriage costs African countries billions; West Africa has highest rate of marriage before 15
6 years, 3 months ago

World Bank report says child marriage costs African countries billions; West Africa has highest rate of marriage before 15

Firstpost  

Every year of secondary education reduces the likelihood of marrying before the age of 18 by five percent or more, it added in the report, “Educating Girls and Ending Child Marriage”. “I know how it feels to be married early and I know how you handle things in your marriage — that is so difficult.” According to a new World …

Global Development: An Indian activist fights in court to help child brides and grooms win their lives back
6 years, 9 months ago

Global Development: An Indian activist fights in court to help child brides and grooms win their lives back

LA Times  

The abuse began days after she moved in with her husband. One of India’s most successful campaigners against child marriage, Bharti runs a one-woman hotline for underage brides and grooms in northwestern India, her name and number printed in newspaper articles touting her unique approach: Instead of merely preaching against the illegal marriages, she fights them in court. Kriti Bharti …

UNICEF report says child marriages in India are on the decline
7 years ago

UNICEF report says child marriages in India are on the decline

Op India  

UNICEF in a press release has said that 25 million child marriages were prevented in the past decade. We must double our efforts worldwide to #ENDChildMarriage once and for all → https://t.co/eyVyLFaOpBpic.twitter.com/qs1q1D1CHn — UNICEF March 6, 2018 UNICEF also said that 1/3 of global child marriages happen in India. In a progress report titled ‘Ending Child Marriage in India’ the …

UN: 12 million girls married during childhood annually
7 years ago

UN: 12 million girls married during childhood annually

Al Jazeera  

Despite drop in annual child marriages, new UN figures show quicker progress is needed to end the practice. Child marriage persists because girls are not valued as highly as boys,” Lakshmi Sundaram, executive director at Girls Not Brides, an umbrella body of civil society outfits fighting to end the practice, told Al Jazeera. It is extremely rare for minor girls …

SC says 23 million minor brides in India; one out of five weddings violate laws prohibiting child marriage
7 years, 5 months ago

SC says 23 million minor brides in India; one out of five weddings violate laws prohibiting child marriage

Firstpost  

Expressing dismay over an alarming figure of 23 million child brides in the country, the Supreme Court has said one out of every five marriages violated laws prohibiting child marriage. New Delhi: Expressing dismay over an alarming figure of 23 million child brides in the country, the Supreme Court has said one out of every five marriages violated laws prohibiting …

Poverty still the leading cause of child marriage
7 years, 5 months ago

Poverty still the leading cause of child marriage

Deccan Chronicle  

Mysuru: Child marriages may be banned in the country, but they are rampant in the Uppar community found in several villages of T Narsipur taluk, and what is more, the people here openly justify them saying they are part of their custom. Going by sources in the Women and Child Development Department, there have been at least 32 child marriages …

The Billion Dollar Cost Of Child Marriage
7 years, 9 months ago

The Billion Dollar Cost Of Child Marriage

NPR  

The Billion Dollar Cost Of Child Marriage Enlarge this image toggle caption Stephanie Sinclair/ Too Young to Wed Stephanie Sinclair/ Too Young to Wed Advocates for ending child marriage are trying a new tactic: Show governments just how much the practice is hurting their own bottom line. Sponsor Message Suzanne Petroni, one the report's co-authors and a senior director at …

'Tsunami' of young girls forced to marry overseas, NSW Government warns
8 years, 6 months ago

'Tsunami' of young girls forced to marry overseas, NSW Government warns

ABC  

School principals and teachers have reported girls as young as nine being taken overseas, where they are forced to marry, the New South Wales Government has said. Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard said there have been around 70 cases of girls being forced to marry overseas reported to the FACS telephone hotline since July 2014. "There is no …

Child Marriage Is Illegal In Nepal. But Nearly 40% Of Girls Wed Before 18
8 years, 6 months ago

Child Marriage Is Illegal In Nepal. But Nearly 40% Of Girls Wed Before 18

Huff Post  

Beatriz Pitarch via Getty Images KATHMANDU, Sept 8 - Kopila Wosti was just 14 when her father married her off to a stranger who was five years older. Child marriage is illegal in Nepal, yet the impoverished Himalayan nation has failed to put in place policies to curb the practice with almost 40 percent of girls married before the age …

Malaysia’s child brides
8 years, 7 months ago

Malaysia’s child brides

Al Jazeera  

Men accused of rape are marrying their alleged victims in order to avoid prosecution. We should not have laws that allow 14-year-olds to get married.” Sharmila said the men often avoided prosecution because rape within marriage is not illegal in Malaysia. ‘The state has an obligation to protect children’ In Malaysia, a Sarawak court last month dismissed charges against a …

Almost half of Indian women get married before 18: UNFPA
8 years, 8 months ago

Almost half of Indian women get married before 18: UNFPA

India TV News  

Almost half of Indian women get married before 18: UNFPA New Delhi: India ranks third when it comes to having child brides and still about half of Indian women get married before they turned 18, according to United Nations Population Fund. “Adolescents New Delhi: India ranks third when it comes to having child brides and still about half of Indian …

Video shows five-year-old girl crying during mass child wedding in India
8 years, 11 months ago

Video shows five-year-old girl crying during mass child wedding in India

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Distressing footage shows a five-year-old …

Teaching Girls They're More Than 'Reproductive And Domestic' Cuts Child Marriage Rates
8 years, 11 months ago

Teaching Girls They're More Than 'Reproductive And Domestic' Cuts Child Marriage Rates

Huff Post  

New findings suggest ways to reduce child marriage by large margins. A study by Population Council in Bangladesh, called the BALIKA project, found that providing girls with educational support and training on gender rights and decision-making reduces the likelihood of child marriage by one third. We’re trying to address those perceptions.” The research tested three different approaches to delaying marriage …

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