Peer-reviewed article
The interplay of economic shocks and cultural practices in child marriage: Comparative evidence from India and Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic
Pascal Mohamed Mounchid, Shruti Shukla, Janina Steinert ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected child marriage rates in India and Zambia among adolescent girls, comparing the role of economic stress and cultural practices. Researchers found no significant increase in child marriage in Zambia despite economic strain, but observed a significant increase in India. The increase in India was driven by reduced dowry costs and lower wedding expenses during pandemic restrictions, which prompted families to advance wedding dates. The findings show that economic shocks affect child marriage differently depending on local cultural and socio-economic contexts.
Key points
- No significant increase in child marriage related to pandemic-induced economic strains in Zambia
- Significant increase in child marriage rates related to pandemic circumstances in India
- Reduced dowry demands and lower wedding costs in India led families to advance daughters' marriages during the pandemic
- Pandemic restrictions on guest numbers made weddings more affordable, driving earlier marriages in India
- Economic or health shocks affect child marriage practices differently based on local socio-cultural context
Limitations
The study was conducted in only two countries with different age ranges for participants (13-18 in India, 15-19 in Zambia), which may limit generalisability. The cross-sectional design and timing of data collection (February-September 2022, nearly two years into the pandemic) means the study captures retrospective accounts rather than real-time pandemic effects on marriage decisions.
Abstract
Child marriage is a critical issue in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic due to economic instability. This study examines the impact of the pandemic on child marriage rates in India and Zambia, focusing specifically on socio-cultural and economic influences. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from adolescent girls aged 13-18 years in India (n = 3,049) and 15-19 years in Zambia (n = 1,615) between February and September 2022. Multi-variable linear probability regression analyses were applied to assess the pandemic's effect on child marriage and how it was affected by cultural marriage practices of bride price (Zambia) and dowry (India). While we found no significant increase related to pandemic-induced economic strains in Zambia, we observed a significant increase in child marriage rates related to the pandemic circumstances in India. In-depth analysis of qualitative data indicated that reduced dowry demands and lower wedding costs, resulting from restrictions on guest numbers, drove families to prepone weddings and marry off their daughters during the pandemic. Our findings suggest that economic or health shocks affect child marriage practices differently based on local socio-cultural context.