India's progress in health, education, and economic development has transformed childhood for millions, yet the earliest years of girls' lives continue to be marked by inequities rooted in longstanding societal gender norms. 1 Although national programmes increasingly focus on adolescents, particularly on menstrual health, early marriage, and skills development-the foundational disadvantages shaping girls' trajectories begin far earlier, from pregnancy through the first decade of life.A lifespan-development perspective highlights the first 10 years a powerful window for achieving gender equality and long-term wellbeing for women and families.1
Early marriage and fertility are key issues in social inequality and global health, which have been associated with a wide range of short-term and long-term negative social and health consequences for young mothers and their offspring. Consequences include pregnancy complications, maternal and neonatal deaths, mental and physical diseases and disabilities, malnutrition and developmental delay during early childhood, as well as other disadvantages in education, employment, and other socioeconomic factors.
The practice of child marriage in Indonesia is still prevalent to this day, and this is a serious problem.Indonesia still ranks second among Asian countries as a country that practices marriage against children after Cambodia.Generally, the practice of child marriage conducted in Indonesia is against children especially girls who are in rural areas and come from poor families.The purpose of this study was to see how the practice of child marriage of girls, especially in Indonesia and what efforts should be made to eliminate the practice of child marriage.This paper will discuss the steps that must be taken to eliminate the practice of child marriage in Indonesia, especially against girls as this becomes a serious and very detrimental issue, especially for girls.Because generally they are forced to undergo this.This research uses normative research type with qualitative method.The results show that the practice of marriage to girls in Indonesia occurs due to several factors, such as poverty, lack of education, and matchmaking tradition in some areas.The practice of marriage of girls is also contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that has been ratified by the Government of Indonesia through Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 36 Year 1990, besides the Indonesian Government has also issued Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 35 Year 2014 on Amendment to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23 Year 2002 on Child Protection, then refers also to the Marriage Law in Indonesia, Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage.So in the opinion of the authors, the practice of marriage of children to girls in some areas in Indonesia is a form of violation of human rights to children according to the convention of children's rights which has also been ratified by the Indonesian government for more than 25 years so that there should be efforts made by the Government as a form of implementation of the UNCRC that has been ratified in the case of the protection and fulfilment of the rights of the child on the basis of the Convention, the author believes that the practice of marriage against girls should be abolished because it has been very long and very harmful for girls in Indonesia.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the challenges of teenage pregnancy experienced by adolescent girls, and its impact on their social and psychological wellbeing. METHODS: The qualitative study was conducted from August 5 to September 17, 2023, in different villages in northern Sindh after approval from the institutional ethical review board of Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Pakistan. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the subjects who had experienced teenage pregnancy in the preceding 2 years. Data was transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. RESULTS: Of the 37 subjects, 20(54%) were aged 19-20 years. The age at the time of marriage was 15-16 years in 22(59%) cases, and 16(43%) had received no formal education. Challenges, impact and outcome of teenage pregnancy were the 3 main themes identified on the basis of the collected data, indicating that it was a challenging experience for adolescent girls resulting in poor health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based interventions are needed to promote female education that may put an end to adolescent motherhood.
This is an opinion piece on the practice of early child marriage in Iran, with a brief review of the causes and consequences of this practice. This piece critically looks at the blanket policies, such as minimum age at marriage, that criminalise early child marriage and discusses why such policies may do more harm than good when they are not compatible with the social norms of the societies in which they are implemented.
Indonesia has a long history of adolescent marriage and early childbearing. The religious, sociocultural and economic factors have been pointed out as the major drivers of early marriage while the 1974 Marriage Law was considered ‘weak’ in preventing the event. As the house of representative has passed the new bill in increasing the minimum legal age of marriage for female from 16 to 19 years old in 2019, a question posed whether the enactment of the new marriage law will be effective in preventing adolescent marriage in Indonesia.
BACKGROUND: Common mental health disorders in early life represent a major challenge and these conditions become more complicated and substantial during the development period of adolescence. Despite the global concern over the increasing prevalence of mental health issues among adolescents, it remains largely a neglected area of research and health policy in Bangladesh, where the burden of child marriage is significantly higher. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with depression among married adolescent girls in Bangladesh. METHODS: The study utilized the data from first-ever Bangladesh Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Survey (BAHWS), conducted in 2019-2020. A total of 1,693 married adolescent girls were included in the final analysis. Depressive symptoms were measured using the standardized Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) tool. Descriptive statistics were applied to assess the prevalence of depression, while bivariate analysis was done to measure the significance of the variables. Furthermore, logistic regression was used to examine the association between any form of depression and selected covariates. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of mild to severe levels of depression among the participants was 53.1% (Mild: 40.3%; Moderate: 9.9%; Moderately severe: 2.3%; Severe: 0.6%). In the multivariable logistic regression model, it was found that adolescents from richest wealth quintile were 35% less likely to suffer from depression (AOR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.45-0.92; P value = 0.02). Additionally, physical violence (AOR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.14-2.09; P value = 0.004), sexual harassment (AOR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.11-2.01; P value = 0.007), social bullying (AOR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.73-2.91; P value < .001), and cyberbullying (AOR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.10-2.77; P value = 0.01) were associated with depression. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that more than half of the married adolescents suffer from mild to severe levels of depression, while any form of violence and harassment significantly increases their risk of depression. Therefore, a more inclusive policy is needed, engaging with communities and local stakeholders, to lay out key actions and intervention pathways to address the issue of violence against married adolescent girls as the extent and spectrum of violence continue to evolve.
This is a cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to assess the attitude on premarital sex, marriage and family size among school going adolescents in Pokhara valley in 2006. The study included 400 students carried out from 170 from 8 government schools and 230 from 8 private schools of the classes X, XI, and XII of the Pokhara valley. The self administered questionnaire prepared in Nepali method was applied for collecting information from randomly selected students in each selected school. Out of total, 57.5 % students were boys and 91% were in age group of 15-18 years. About two-fifths (41%) of the students did not agree with the statement that “premarital sex is not good”. This attitude was higher in boys than girls (46% versus 34%) and in government school students than private school students (57% versus 33%). More than half (62%) students preferred arranged marriage, and it comprised 73% of girls and 53% of boys. Almost all of the students (97%) were of the opinion that a couple should not have more than two children. Of total, 85% of the students’ preferred to have one son. The preference of a son is slightly higher in girls (87%) than in boys (84%). About half of the students (53%) were aware that biologically male is responsible for the sex of the child. This knowledge was higher in the boys (54%) and those studying in government school (58%) than girl students (51%) and private school students (50%). This concludes that male were more liberal towards premarital sex, self arranged marriage, sex preference than girls. Key words: Attitude, Premarital Sex, Marriage, Adolescents, Family Size
This study intended to investigate the factors that related to early marriage of ethnic adolescent girls among Hmong, Khmu and Akha in 3 districts of three provinces as Xiengnguen district, Luang Prabang province, La district, Oudomxay province and Mai district, Phongsaly province. Data and information were collected via semi-structured interviews questionnaires and questionnaires from October to November 2025, by using purposive sampling to target the groups with total of 136 people, including village authorities, local customary law leaders, parents and adolescent girls. The quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS and Kobo toolbox. Also, the qualitative information was consolidated and ranking from all responses. The keys study findings found that a widespread of early marriage is strongly linked to inequality of educational opportunity, having low education as the primary contributor to early marriage. As evidenced 19 percent reach upper secondary school, 33 percent attend lower secondary school, 22 percent studied at primary school, and 26 percent of adolescent never go to school in their life time. Domestic inequality that linked to culture as a secondary driver, clearly through devaluation of daughters. Sons received preferential treatment, with 96 percent of parents encouraging male children to maintain traditional practices and providing them greater opportunity. This disparity prompted adolescent girls to pursue marriage as an economic advancement. The third determinant was attitude of adolescent girls, surrounding by their circles and society, evidenced by 74 percent marrying without parental consultation due to love attachment and 96 percent doing so voluntarily. Materialistic aspirations further motivated self-initiated early marriages, as girls perceived matrimony as a pathway to stability and prospects. The findings reveal that low education β=.681, and p<.000, domestic gender inequality of the culture and tradition β=.51 and p<.001, and attitude β=.23, and p<.004 on autonomous decision-making as primary factors R2 =.644; F (4,64) =28.98, p<0.001, underlying early marriage. In contrary, majority of parents opposed the practice, with over 80 percent recognizing its inappropriateness, 93 percent rejecting parental exclusion from marriage decisions, and 60 percent acknowledging its legal inconsistency.
Indonesia occupies 37th place with amount wedding early the highest in the world and 2nd in Southeast Asia. Marriage dispensation data in Bulukumba Regency in 2021 amounted to 201 cases married teenagers early and Ujung Bulu District is Subdistrict with amount wedding early highest from 10 Sub-districts in Bulukumba namely totaling 19 teenagers spread across several sub-district. Marriage early is the marriage that was carried out before age reproduction, under 20 years For women and under 25 years old For men (BKKBN, 2018 in (nur asjeti, 2021) ). There are several factors that cause wedding early that is pregnant out of wedlock, arranged marriage, level low education, etc. Researchers interested do study This Because wedding early can cause various impact. For explore impact from aspect perceived health (reproductive and psychological) or experienced teenager the princess who has Marry early in the Ujung Bulu District, Bulukumba Regency. This study uses design study qualitative with approach phenomenology. 5 participants chosen in accordance criteria and recorded moment interview deep use guidelines interview not structured Then made transcript interview, next analyzed use Creswell model data analysis. Research result identify three theme main, namely : (1) meaning wedding early for teenagers, (2) reasons teenager choose For Marry early, (3) impact wedding early in adolescence. There are 3 themes found in study this and in it there is impact reproductive, psychological and educational. For teenagers princess to be more active and avoid things negative . It is hoped that more selective in choose Friend For socialize. More open with parents about all problems experienced For avoid socializing free and even pregnancy out of wedlock.
