He said that the woman would also take him on outings. Initially, he did not respond to my enquiries, but later he told us the whole thing.
He looked scared and his health was deteriorating. The boy’s father is quoted saying: ‘My child is in Standard 10 and has been a good student, but of late I saw a lot of changes in him. She proceeded to blackmail the kid for the next three months, calling him to her house regularly. For the first time, existing strategies in areas like health, education, child protection and water and sanitation, are coming together to form a unique holistic programme with shared plans and goals.Here’s what happened next. In South Asia, it is implemented in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. In 2016, UNICEF and UNFPA joined forces through a Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage in 12 countries with the highest rates of child brides. UNICEF considers five entry points to accelerate these changes: (i) to increase agency and resources for adolescents – especially girls – at risk of and affected by child marriage (ii) to enhance legal and development policy frameworks for an enabling environment that protects the rights of adolescent girls and boys (iii) to increase the generation and use of a robust evidence base for advocacy, programming, learning and tracking progress (iv) to enhance systems and services that respond to the needs of adolescents at risk of or affected by child marriage and (v) to increase social action, acceptance, and visibility around investing in and supporting girls, and shifting social expectations relating to girls, including by engaging boys and men.Īt the global level, child marriage is included in Goal 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” under Target 5.3 “Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation”. In the short term (5-10 years), UNICEF sees a critical mass of children, families, and communities changing their attitudes and behaviours in the longer term (10-30 years), UNICEF sees aspirations for all children upheld by new social norms. UNICEF’s approach, therefore, envisions success in two timeframes. UNICEF’s approach to ending child marriage in South Asia recognises the complex nature of the problem, and the socio-cultural and structural factors underpinning the practice. In communities where the practice is prevalent, marrying a girl as a child is part of a cluster of social norms and attitudes that reflect the low value accorded to the human rights of girls. The marriage of girls aged 15-18 is however still commonplace, so more efforts are needed to protect older adolescents from marriage.Ĭhild marriage is the result of the interplay of economic and social forces. Nepal has also one the highest rates of child marriage in Asia for both boys and girls.Ĭhild marriage is declining (63% in 1985 to 45%t in 2010) in South Asia, with the decline being especially marked for girls under 15 (32% in 1985 to 17% in 2010). Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in Asia (the fourth highest rate in the world).
India has the largest number of brides in the world – one-third of the global total. Almost one in five girls (17%) are married before the age of 15.Ĭhild marriage violates children’s rights and places them at high risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse.
Almost half (45%) of all women aged 20-24 years reported being married before the age of 18.
South Asia has the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Child marriage affects both girls and boys, but it affects girls disproportionately, especially in South Asia. Child Marriage is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.