Peer-reviewed article
Causes of Early Marriage and Its Effect on Reproductive Health of Young Mothers in Bangladesh
Md. Ruhul Kabir, Susmita Ghosh, Asma Shawly ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines early marriage in Bangladesh, where 59% of women marry before age 18, making it the fourth highest prevalence globally. The research documents how poverty, low parental investment in girls' education, and lack of awareness drive child marriage, despite legal prohibition. Early marriage leads to serious reproductive health consequences including stillbirth, miscarriage, obstetric fistulas, sexually transmitted infections, and mental health problems. The study emphasises that addressing underlying socioeconomic causes alongside legal enforcement is essential to prevent child marriage and protect young mothers' health.
Key points
- Bangladesh has the fourth highest child marriage prevalence rate in the world, with 59% of women married before age 18
- Poverty, low literacy, parental unwillingness to invest in girls' education, and lack of social security are key drivers of early marriage
- A rural study in Noakhali found over 80% of marriages occurred for women under 18 years
- Early marriage is significantly associated with stillbirth, miscarriage, and pregnancy termination
- Young married women face increased risks of obstetric fistulas, pre-term deliveries, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental depression
Limitations
The document is primarily a literature review and policy analysis rather than presenting original empirical data. It does not provide detailed methodology, sample sizes, or statistical analysis from the studies cited, limiting assessment of evidence quality and generalisability.
Abstract
The ubiquitous nature of early marriage which practiced across all background and social divides in Bangladesh causing a lot of concerns as according to UNICEF report on "The state of world's children 2017" Bangladesh has the fourth highest prevalence rate of child marriage in the world (59% marriage of women is happened before the age of 18 years). Poverty and low literacy are deciding factors; however, this phenomenon has severe health consequences which most of the times are overlooked and takes for granted in a country like Bangladesh. The study aims on the present situation of early marriage in Bangladesh, its social context and also identifies its effect on reproductive health. The tradition driven by poverty, unwillingness of parents to invest in girl's education, superstition, lack of social security and awareness directly affects girls' education, physical health, psychological well-being and consequently the health of their offspring. Though prohibition of child marriage is legal, but incidents of child marriage are still pervasive, especially in remote areas of Bangladesh due to proper enactment and social insecurity. A study conducted in rural Noakhali, Bangladesh revealed that more than 80% of marriage happened for women under 18 years of age. A study which found that still birth, miscarriage and pregnancy termination are significantly associated with child marriage. Early marriage often followed by adolescent pregnancies has enormous harmful effect on women's health as they are not ready physically and psychologically, hence increases the risk for different sexually transmitted diseases, obstetric fistulas, pre-term deliveries, miscarriage accompanied by mental depression, physical abuse, lack of social coherence and isolation and so on. To prevent child marriage, focusing on the underlying causes of child marriage is imperative and its serious health consequences warrant proper enactment of legislation and addressing the socioeconomic causes that propitiates child marriage.