Too young to wed: Economic consequences of child marriage

In a recently held policy dialogue titled "Prevention of Child Marriage in Bangladesh", State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki said, although the minimum marriageable age of girls will remain unchanged at 18, a rule of the proposed Child Marriage Restraint Act would allow girls, aged 16 to 18, to get married under special circumstances, with permission from courts or their parents.
Experts opine that this may well lead to abuse of the law and encourage child marriage even further. According to UNICEF, sixty-five per cent of girls in Bangladesh marry before they reach 18 and more than a quarter of the girls are married before they are fifteen. This ranks us fourth in child marriage in the world behind Niger, Chad and Mali.
Child marriage clearly contributes to poverty and has a large negative effect on economic growth but still for many the issue is social and not an economic one. The process of economic development is complex and multidimensional, with vulnerabilities in some areas affecting other areas, and child marriage is a perfect example of this. Different studies show that the economic impacts and associated costs of child marriage are large and far-reaching, since it affects girls' health, nutrition, labour force participation, and their children and communities as well. When forced to marry at a young age, many drop out at the very point when education can prepare them through the very vulnerable period of adolescence. By dropping out from school they not only lose the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for a professional career, but also lose the sense of increased self-worth -- intrinsic to continued education. With this lack of opportunity, young brides don't get to complete their education and thus earning money becomes the sole responsibility of the men of the family. As a consequence, the nation remains deprived of the financial contributions of the women which perpetuates the cycle of poverty and thereby curtails the overall economic growth. Since, mothers with little or no education are unaware of benefits of value of education, they are less likely to keep their own children in school. The discontinuation of education that results from child marriage serves as a structural base of stagnant economic development.
Child brides are often expected to bear children soon after marriage, which not only exposes a young girl to profound health risks from early pregnancy but is considered one of the leading causes of higher maternal and infant mortality. It is estimated that a third of the girls aged between fifteen and nineteen are mothers or are pregnant. Teenage mothers are twice as likely to die during childbirth and babies born to mothers under fourteen are fifty per cent more likely to die than those born to mothers aged over twenty. Young brides not only bear children earlier, but have more children over their lifetime than women who marry after the age of 18. Population experts confirm that early marriages contribute to high population growth, thereby threatening access of households to the often scarce resources they need to thrive on, and putting pressures on government budgets to deliver quality services.
Child marriage is related to both cultural tradition and poverty. Society thinks girls are weak and incapable to work and earn an income and often consider them an economic burden. Many girls themselves internalise the belief that they are simply a burden to their families and therefore want to get married young to help relieve their families. The other factors driving child marriage in Bangladesh, includes natural disasters, lack of access to education, social pressure, harassment and dowry. Then there is the fear of what is called eve-teasing which often leads to real abuse and rape. In our society, if a girl has been raped or sexually abused in any way, it decreases her chances of getting married in the future.  So, many parents simply take their daughters out of school to protect them from abuse and ensure their viability as brides in the future.  Also demand for dowry encourages child marriage because younger brides typically require smaller dowries. Unable to meet the demand of dowry often results in violence against the bride.
Poverty plays a huge role on child marriage. Though poverty rate has declined in the recent past but still many poor parents who are unable to feed their children, or pay for their education costs seek a husband for their daughters as a survival strategy.  Even though education (primary, secondary) is free in Bangladesh, many families are unable to afford fees for exams, uniforms, stationery and other associated costs, and as a consequence their girls lack access to education and end up in early marriage.
 Although Bangladesh has reduced poverty and maternal mortality, achieved significant gender parity in primary and secondary school enrolment, and is improving its record on women's rights, it still struggles to tackle child marriage. To prevent child marriage we need to take some effective social and political measures. In our country, almost 95 per cent of the child marriages take place in the rural areas, where education is limited. Lack of education is one of the most influential factors serving as basis for gender subjugation and, consequently, women's economic alienation. Education is the key for everyone, especially girls. Different studies show that girls with no education are over three times more likely to be married before the age of 18 than those with secondary or higher education. Therefore, empowering girls by giving them an opportunity to build skills and knowledge to understand and exercise their rights and develop support networks can reduce child marriage.
Discussion on child marriage still remains a taboo in our society. Raising awareness about the issue is vital in order to end the daily suffering of adolescent girls and the continual violation of their human rights. We need to involve families, communities and different social organisations to raise awareness of the harmful consequences of child marriage to bring change in attitudes and reduce the acceptance among those who make the decision to marry off minor girls.
The government has ratified the UN convention that defines a child as anyone below the age of 18. So allowing parents to marry off their daughter at an earlier age is tantamount to encouraging child marriage, a practice the government is committed to end. Delaying the age of marriage and investing in girls' future can have a multiplier effect benefiting the country at large. We need to understand that exclusion of fifty per cent of the population (women) from both the workplace and the market remains the greatest barrier to accelerating economic development. For comprehensive economic development and poverty alleviation, economic participation of women and their integration into the national workforce is a must.  And therefore, empowering their participation in the workforce is essential not only for reducing poverty and economic growth but also for achieving social justice. Ending child marriage and ensuring that girls go to school is where it can all begin.  
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