Peer-reviewed article
Socio-Cultural Determinants of Child Marriages and Teenage Pregnancies among Adolescent Girls and Young Women: A Case Study of District Sanghar and Karachi
Syed Imran Haider, Arshad Khan Bangash, Muhammad Ali ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This research examined the socio-cultural factors driving child marriages and teenage pregnancies among adolescent girls in Sanghar district and Karachi, Pakistan. The study found that adolescent girls lack accurate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health rights. Researchers used both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand local attitudes and practices. The study recommends using existing health service providers and an integrated multi-stakeholder approach to address these issues.
Key points
- Adolescent girls and young women in the study areas have insufficient knowledge about sexual and reproductive health rights
- Most respondents had access to both public and private health service providers
- Health service providers can be leveraged as channels for delivering quality information on sexual and reproductive health and rights
- An integrated approach combining multiple channels and societal stakeholders is needed to create social change
- Child marriages and early age pregnancy are prevalent issues in South Asian regions including Pakistan
Limitations
The document provides no numerical data, sample sizes, or specific findings from the analysis. It is unclear whether the study was completed, what specific socio-cultural determinants were identified, or what actionable evidence emerged from the research beyond general recommendations.
Abstract
Child marriages and early age pregnancy are an alarming issue among adolescent girls and young females in South Asian region. This research was carried out to understand the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards child marriages and early age pregnancies. For this purpose an exploratory research design was employed and data was gathered through using qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The research found that the respondents were lacking authentic knowledge about sexual and reproductive health rights. Most of the respondents were having access to public and private health service providers and this channel can be a source for the quality information about sexual and reproduce health and rights. An integrated approach through combing all the channels and stakeholders of the society can be vital for the desired social change to counter child marriages and early age pregnancies.