UNICEF predicts that it will take 300 years for child marriage to disappear. Where are they common?
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There are currently approximately 640 million women and girls in the world who were married off as children. However, the number of child marriages continues to decrease worldwide, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF. The relevant UNICEF report was published in May 2023. Human rights activists say that there is progress in the fight against this phenomenon, but it is not fast enough. Today, every fifth young girl between the ages of 20 and 24 gets married as a child – 10 years ago, every fourth girl had this fate. In general, almost half of underage brides live in South Asia (290 million girls). 127 million brides (20%) are in sub-Saharan Africa, 95 million (15%) are in East Asia and the Pacific, 58 million (9%) are in Latin America and the Caribbean. Photo: Hindustan Times/GettyImages In the Middle East and North Africa, 37 million girls are affected by early marriage, and 20 million in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Despite global progress, the reduction in the number of child marriages is not happening fast enough to achieve the goal of eradicating this practice by 2030. In fact, at current rates, it will take another 300 years to completely eradicate child marriage,” says UNICEF. Read also: Daughter sold for $40,000: in China, the police saved a 14-year-old girl from forced marriage Global progress was due mainly to the reduction of child marriages in India. However, there is still the largest number of underage brides in the world. Progress is also evident in other populous countries where the practice has historically been common, such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The Maldives and Rwanda are also on the way to eradicating child marriage. “The experience of these countries illustrates that progress is possible in many different conditions. Nevertheless, they have common features, including improved economic development, reduced poverty, access to employment and secondary education,” the UN says. Meanwhile, progress has stalled in some parts of the world. West and Central Africa, the region with the highest prevalence of child marriage, has made very little progress over the past 25 years. Many countries in the region, especially in the Sahel region, are experiencing ongoing crises that increase the vulnerability of girls. Another region where child marriage is flourishing is Latin America and the Caribbean. Because of the wide gap between different socio-economic groups, this practice has taken root among poor people. UNICEF says that at the current rate, the world will need another 300 years to completely eradicate child marriage. “Health crises, armed conflicts and climate change are all contributing to a more unstable world in which families may seek ‘refuge’ for their girls in child marriage,” says UNICEF. Read also: Who can you marry before the age of 18? Explanation of the Ministry of Justice
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