High rate of child marriage in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia

Islamabad
One of the most comprehensive surveys of child marriage in Asia has revealed that deeply entrenched traditions and views are still forcing young girls into early marriage, says a press release.
Disturbingly high rates of child marriage, particularly of girls, prevail in rural areas of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The research finds that child marriage, including of girls aged 12-14 years old, endures with widespread support among members of the community, parents, and children themselves.
Getting the Evidence: Asia Child Marriage Initiative, was commissioned by international child rights organisation Plan International and UK-based research firm Coram International. Based on thousands of surveys and interviews with parents, community leaders, and children in communities in all 3 countries, the report details the underlying causes of child marriage alongside a suite of recommendations for countering the endurance of early marriage.
The primary reasons for the endurance of such high rates of child marriage were found to be lack of access to education, economic opportunity, and health services, particularly for girls, alongside severe poverty and weak legal and enforcement mechanism. Most disturbingly, the normalisation and justification of male sexual violence, and extreme gender inequity prevail in survey areas.
According to a 17-year old girl who participated in the research in Pakistan, "if a girl doesn't get married people will start to gossip about her. She will lose her reputation, and people will think she is not worthy. For a man it is less of an issue. He can remain single."
"Pakistan had the lowest rate of child marriage of girls surveyed in the three countries, at 34.8%, with 15.2% under age 15. However, the rate of child marriage for boys was substantially higher, at 13%. Children shouldn't be getting married, and they shouldn't feel that they have to. Instead, they should be in school, and they should have

access to the opportunities that allow them to choose when, and who, to marry", said Farah Naz -Country Programme Manager, Plan International in Pakistan extraordinarily high rates of child marriage were found among females surveyed in Bangladesh, with 73% being married before they turned 18 years old. 27% of girls were married between the ages of 12 and 14. This compares to 2.8% of males in survey areas in Bangladesh.
In Indonesia, 38% of married females in survey areas were married under 18 years of age. The percentage of men married before they turned 18 was 3.7.
Rashid Javed, country director of Plan International in Asia says: "Ultimately, the endurance of child marriage lies in deeply ingrained gender discrimination, but economic factors, girls economic dependence, and tradition all play strong roles."
"However, our research shows that changing communities' attitudes and acceptance of child marriage not a remote or insurmountable challenge; a combination of education, economic opportunity, access to health services, and stricter, enforced legal frameworks make a substantial difference to the levels of acceptance and prevalence of child marriage."
"Plan International believes that the minimum age of marriage is 18, as declared in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child", Says Rashid Javed-Country Director Plan International in Pakistan
Research found a direct link between levels of education (for both children and parents), income, access to economic opportunity, and access to sexual and reproductive health services and levels of support for child marriage in a community. Improved access to each of these met with a corresponding decline in levels of acceptance of child marriage.
The report concludes that consistent and long term intervention by NGOs, community groups, governments, and institutional, individual, community and family-level actions would have a substantial impact on the rate and acceptance of child marriage in all three countries. A suite of 40 practical, concrete recommendations concludes the report.
The report and its recommendations will guide Plan International's programming and advocacy regarding child marriage in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia, as well as inform interventions in other countries.