Nearly half of the world’s marriages to underage girls occur in South Asian countries, according to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). On May 5, reports UCA News.
South Asia accounts for 290 million or 45% of the total 640 million child brides worldwide, according to a report released May 1.
The report also states that South Asia is followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 20% of such marriages, followed by East Asia and the Pacific with 15% and Latin America and the Caribbean with 9%.
The report used data collected from women ages 20 to 24 who were married before the age of 18.
Unicef said in a report that the current rate of reduction in child marriage is insufficient to reach the goal of its complete elimination by 2030.
“In fact, at the current rate, it will take another 300 years until child marriage is eliminated. [глобально]»says the report.
According to the report, the rate of decline would need to be at least 20 times faster to end child marriage, in line with UNICEF targets.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.3 aims to “eliminate all harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.”
It was previously reported that as of 2023, there were 216.6 million girls and women in India who were first married or in union before the age of 18, among South Asian countries.
Bangladesh reported 41.6 million child brides, followed by Pakistan with 19.4 million, Nepal with 5.3 million and Afghanistan with 4.0 million.
At the same time, Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia, where around 51% of women are still married before the age of 18. The country ranks eighth among countries with the highest rate of child marriage.
However, the report says that despite the setbacks, South Asia is leading the world in reducing child marriage. “Today, one in five young women ages 20 to 24 were married as children, compared to nearly one in four 10 years ago.”says the report.
“Of all child marriages prevented in the last 25 years, 78% are in South Asia”says the report later.
The report notes that over the past decade, the probability of a girl marrying before adulthood has fallen from 46% to 26%.
However, the report notes that poverty and illiteracy are factors driving child marriage in South Asia, which is also home to about half of the world’s poor.
“Underage brides in South Asia are more likely to live in poor families, have a lower level of education, and live in rural areas,” UNICEF said, adding that most child brides in the region do not even attend school.
The report claims that “In many countries, marriage and education are considered incompatible, and decisions to leave a girl in school and marry her off at a young age are often made at the same time.”
According to Girls Not Brides, a global coalition against child marriage, 12 million girls around the world are still getting married before their 18th birthday, or about 23 girls a minute.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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