Child Marriage

February 16, 2026

Every year, 12 million girls under 18 are married. Child marriage is a serious human rights violation and harmful practice that occurs across the globe. Not only does child marriage cut short a girl’s education, but also it increases her risk of physical and sexual abuse, as well as health problems.
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It won’t be an easy feat – but ending child marriage is possible if parents, communities, governments and donors work together to change the story for millions.
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For most of us, a wedding day is something to look forward to. To plan and prepare. Or something to look back with fond memories of a choice once made. For millions of young girls and boys around the world, however, marriage is not a choice. It interrupts their childhood, forcing them into perilous cycles that are all too often impossible to break free from.
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Married life and parenthood leave many of these girls trapped, pushing them away from education and limiting their future options. More of it destroys the high & colorful dreams of those girls who were good in studies at some point of their life but couldn’t pursue more in a conspiracy that they have to chase more of their parents cultures & norms.
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This hypocrisy should be mocked in the face of those people who are none other than own parents who cut off the wings of a child, and snatch away the books from his/her innocent hands and put utensils at that place. They all talk big about prosperity of their child, want their life to be prosperous but they choose the path of satisfaction over the path of struggle and strike to be a good human first.
It’s all a river of burning fire, caged desires. It’s all floating around, shattered bound. She is crying, mellowing. She divided in utter shrine!

Some parents see forced marriage as a way of protecting their daughters against the risk of romantic relationships, and most importantly against sexual relations outside marriage. Above all, they are seeking to avoid pregnancies considered to be illegitimate that could result from this type of relationship. Causes of child marriages include poverty, bride price, dowry, cultural traditions, religious and social pressures, regional customs, fear of the child remaining unmarried into adulthood, illiteracy, and perceived inability of women to work for money.
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Ending child marriage and supporting married girls require work across four areas:
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— Empower girls.
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— Mobilise families and communities.
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— Provide services.
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— Establish and implement laws and policies.
These seem simple steps but these are the main key points that can actually improve the condition even if not remove it from roots. Perseverance is the main factor, everything is possible if we imply it properly and make a promise to remove this evil social construct from our society.
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Story of a brave girl, a girl with the will to study but crushed under the feet of parents’ dreams and desires. Where she stands? Where are her dreams?
The answer is – inside a burning container, shredding bit by bit. Starved and a life full of pain, beaten and marked all over her body, invisible scars on her heart. She is imprisoned, and following her ‘Sanskar’!!!
She narrates her story with a heavy heart – “Then came the day when everything changed. I had started in 9th grade and was determined to go to higher school but my father said that I should not go to school the next day. I would never go to school again; instead I would be married off to a man named Salum. I really felt helpless, holding my certificates in one hand, an almirah full of books, my heart filled with my dream job. Who will make my father understand that I don’t want to play with utensils anymore.
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Father said he was 35 years old and that he had paid to marry me. I was completely silent and did not understand what they were saying. I remember wondering what it means to get married.

A few days later, my stepmother gave me the dress I would wear the day Salum came to fetch me. The dress was lovely. It was purple with sequins and embellishments. My stepmother said that I looked beautiful and grown up. Then she tried to explain to me what a man expected once he was married. I did not understand what she was talking about.
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In the week before I was taken away from home, I cried all the time. It was a memorable day? Someone asked. YES, a devastating, dead to my soul, tearing my veins full of sparkles and end to my life in real.

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