Shaista* was 10 when she was married to a man more than 25 years older than her. He was a labourer. Now 23, she is a mother of four. Her husband has a cataract and can no longer work. She has been working as an ayah (helper) at a school, but that was never enough to cover even their house rent. Things got worse a few months ago when their landlord asked them to vacate the house.

“I never felt so helpless. If only I knew how to support my family,” says Shaista.

According to a UNICEF report, 18.9 million girls in Pakistan are believed to have been married before reaching the age of 18. 4.6 million of them were married before they were 15. The report says one in six women were married in their childhood. Globally, the country ranks sixth in terms of early marriages.

The UNICEF defines child marriage as the union of a child under the age of 18.

Driven by low rates of education, poverty, cultural factors, early or child marriage continues to be a serious challenge in Pakistan. The social impact of these marriages is huge. Another harmful consequence of the practice is its negative impact on the country’s economy.

A 2017 report by the World Bank said that child marriages will cost developing countries trillions of dollars by 2030.

There is a significant socioeconomic cost associated with low marital age. It impacts educational attainment, labour force participation, fertility and population growth, physical health and decision-making, says a UN Women & NCSW study conducted by IDEAS (2020-21). The study concluded that the earlier a girl is married, the more likely it is that her level of schooling will be low.

Almost everything else in her life comes back to education, or the lack of it.

“Early marriages result in girls being unable to complete their education,” says Dr Faisal Bari, CEO and senior research fellow at IDEAS and one of the writers of the study. “Due to this lack of educational attainment, they either do not get the jobs they would have otherwise got or fail to enter the job market at all,” he says.

Bari says girls who are married without completing their education cannot get a job when they need it. “There is a very clear economic impact. Not being employed will then impact economic empowerment. She will be dependent on somebody else. This will add to the cycle of poverty.”

Iftikhar Mubarik, CEO of the Search for Justice, an NGO, says he has come across many cases where girls were married before the age of 18. Most of them were taken out of school upon getting married. “So, if she becomes widowed or is divorced, she finds herself unable to get a job. In the end, she has to live with her parents. That's when the situation becomes critical,” he says.

“Many Pakistanis live in joint families. Often, one or a few men handle the household finances,” says Nubarik. He says the family often views a divorced woman or a widow as an unwelcome burden.

Poor health is another direct consequence of child marriage.

Dr Hina Hawed, a family physician, says, "A Pakistani woman's health is often compromised before she reaches the age of marriage.” She says that a large number of women in Pakistan are anaemic. “When you add marriage to the mix, things become more complicated, particularly since many of them become pregnant early on.

“Of course, fertility rates are higher with early marriages as the number of years a woman can have children increases. In most cases, there are recurrent miscarriages, and there’s a high mortality rate for mothers.” She says the health of these young mothers is compromised for the rest of their lives due to early pregnancies.

“It’s the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about,” she says.

 A UN Women report estimates that the cost of child marriages from 2019 to 2020 was $800 million. “Taking into consideration the population of Pakistan at around 216.6 million in 2019 and the national prevalence of child marriage at 23 per cent, this cost is equivalent to 0.42 per cent of the GDP value for Pakistan.”

Early marriage affects not only a woman’s physical condition but also her mental health. This, in turn, can have a deep impact on the economy. "A girl married before the age of 18 experiences tremendous stress. This makes her vulnerable to depression and anxiety," says Maryam Sharif, a mental health professional at My Restful Mind.

Sharif says poor mental health will always affect a woman’s physical health and impact maternal and infant mortality rates.

"A family might believe that marrying off girls at an early age will reduce its economic burden. However, it is actually burdening the system even more and turning her into a huge liability.”

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A child marriage’s economic impact on the education and health of the young bride inevitably perpetuates poverty in the family and the community. The problems get more complicated with each child being pushed into marriage.

“Every human being is a labourer in some way. All of us have to contribute something to society,” says Dr Farzana Bari, a gender studies expert and human rights activist. When you marry somebody at an early age, they cannot be a productive member of the society and the economy.”

She says child marriage prevents potential workers and contributors to the economy from joining the economic system. “There is a social cost to early marriage. Eventually, there is an economic cost, too.” This is often a cycle that pushes a family deeper into poverty. “The impact is not limited to that child. It can usually be felt throughout the family and then, of course, the economy. The family either goes into the poverty trap or the poverty level deepens.”

The UN Women report estimates that the cost of child marriages from 2019 to 2020 was $800 million. “Taking into consideration the population of Pakistan at around 216.6 million in 2019 and the national prevalence of child marriage at 23 per cent, this cost is equivalent to 0.42 per cent of the GDP value for Pakistan.”

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The problem is huge and has a massive cost to the economy. However, it is also deep-rooted.

“Child marriage is illegal in all provinces, but it is not being handled as if it were a crime,” says Dr Farzana Bari. “It is like child labour; nobody can report it to anyone.” She points out the problematic reporting structure around it.

“There is no mechanism for reporting this crime. There are things that can be done. We have labour inspectors, don’t we? But this is not the state’s priority right now.” She says this is a structural problem that runs deep.

“The problem starts when a girl child is born and is seen as a burden. We don’t look at her as an economic prospect. By transferring this responsibility to someone else, we think our job is done.” She says this cannot be changed by stopping one or two child marriages. “Child marriage is a symptom. There is a deep-rooted patriarchal rationale in place that needs to be addressed.”

The legal framework around early marriages doesn’t make it easy to report. “Except for Sindh, the whole country is under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929,” says Syed Miqdad Mehdi, a child rights activist.

He says the complicated complaint mechanism is a problem. Under the 1929 law, the complaint has to be filed with the union council secretary, who should verify the claim and then proceed with an official filing of the complaint.

“Until now, we don’t know of a single case in which the secretary has forwarded such a complaint.”

As familiar instances of child marriage go unreported, the problem continues unchecked, silently exacerbating the financial burden on a country that is already struggling economically.

“The cycle never breaks. There is no way out of poverty. In fact, the poverty deepens,” says Mehdi.

Dr Faisal Bari says education is one way out of this vicious cycle. “The current LEAPS data shows that if girls stay at school longer, it pushes back their marriage age.”

Another possible intervention is raising awareness, says Dr Farzana Bari. “There is a need to create awareness among people to make them see that it is a crime that needs to be called out. These systems can be implemented under an effective local government.”

We can start by placing women who lack education at the bottom of the labour force pyramid. We can then apply a filter, picking out the best, the more enterprising, and the ones with leadership qualities, and provide them with opportunities accordingly. – Dr Fareeha Arghaman

There is a need also to push the marriageable age to 18 all over Pakistan, says Mehdi. “There has been a lot of resistance from the conservative quarters, but things are looking up.” He says that child marriages all over the world are now considered modern slavery. This might trickle down here, too.

“The Federal Shariat Court has given some excellent judgments recently where they have ruled that the state can legislate for the welfare of minors and it’s not against the religion.” He says that one positive effect of this is that Balochistan is now working on a law to reconsider the marriage age. There is also talk about it in the Punjab.

Dr Fareeha Arghaman, an economist and head of the Centre of Evidence Action Research at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), says civil society organisations are doing a lot of work, but more is needed. “Poverty elimination policies must be practical. They should help people actually graduate out of poverty. There should be a lot of focus on putting women into the labour market, even if they are not literate.”

She says that 48.8 per cent of Pakistan’s population consists of women. A majority of them are involved in caregiving at home. “They experience time poverty due to extremely long hours of caregiving. So, there is a need to monetise this work. In its present form it is non-productive activity. “Family-friendly structures, such as daycares, are needed so that women can leave their houses and participate in the economy.”

Dr Arghaman says the point is to drive women out of their households and put them in the job market. “If they lack education, which most women who go through child marriages do, we can start by placing them at the bottom of the pyramid in the labour force.

“We can then apply a filter, picking out the best, the more enterprising and the ones with leadership qualities, and provide them with opportunities accordingly. There must be a holistic policy design that addresses this.”

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At Aminah Protection and Learning Centre, located in a quiet corner of Shahdrah, dedicated trainers are imparting vocational skills to women.

“We teach them sewing and offer beautician courses,” says Fatima Tahir, the woman in charge of the Centre. “Not only that, we also give them startup support, for example, a sewing machine or a make-up kit. These are things that might be necessary for them to generate some economic activity.”

A couple of months ago, Shaista joined Aminah Centre to take a sewing course.

She now receives several orders on a daily basis. Her financial situation has improved.

“I wasn’t educated, but now I have a skill I can work with. I almost lost the will to live, but now I can hope again,” she says.

“This sewing machine is like a saheli (friend). It can help me through thick and thin. I know it will never leave my side,” she smiles.

*Name has been changed to protect identity.

The writer is a staff member