According to K4health (n.d), the amalgamation of two people in which both parties or either one is younger than the age of 18 is defined as early marriage. The mental and physical health of the girls will be affected for the rest of their life due to early marriage. Thus, early marriage brings nothing but problems.
Firstly, early marriage threatens youth health. Youngsters experience numerous hardships and ailments regarding early marriage. The girls that are under 18 years old are not physically mature, making them unprepared for sexual intercourse or childbirth. Some of the young brides are forced to undergo multiple pregnancies in quick succession. Their lives are put at risk. Physical pain and pregnancies-related complications, such as obstetric fistula can be resulted from doing sexual intercourse at a young age (K4health,n.d).
Girls who give birth between the ages of 15 and 19 are much more likely to die in childbirth than girls in early 20s (Girls Not Bride,2016). Furthermore, childbearing by child brides causes harm to her children. Most of the children of the child brides are to be expected as stillborn or die within the first week of their life (Unicef, 2018). ‘Stillbirths and newborn deaths are 50% higher in mothers under the age of 20 than in women who give birth later’ (Girls Not Brides,2016). Therefore, early marriage causes lots of health problems.
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Secondly, education is affected due to marriage life. Dropping out of school is a catastrophic trend. Girls who married early tend to have more children and have babies earlier and it is their responsibilities to take care of the children. According to Strongheart (2017), ‘Girls who marry before the age of 19 are 50% more likely to drop out of school and four times less likely to graduate from college’. The burden of early marriages does not provide them with an opportunity to learn to cause them to barely cope with their lives. Work opportunities are limited for the youngsters. The education levels that are low are causing them to get a not so highly paid job. It makes them struggle to sustain a stable living. Early marriage is costing them, their education.
Lastly, the perception of early marriage as a ticket to abuse children. Most girls who got married early, tend to experience sexual abuse. Child brides often suffer emotional pressure from their families and husbands or in-laws resulting in limitations in their ability to make decisions about their own lives and bodies (Girls Not Brides,2014). Most of the girls have been through forced sexual initiation. A recent study from Girls Not Brides (2014), found that globally, those who married after 18 are not likely to experience sexual violence than the girls who married before the age of 15 which were almost 50%. In addition, early marriage resulting in physical abuse. Physical abuse can be caused by the lack of female autonomy, social isolation, power imbalances and spousal age gaps (MedicalXpress,2016).
The study demonstrated that, globally, past-year physical violence was much higher among women who married as children with 29% compared to those who married an adult which is 20% (EurekAlert,2016). Hence, physical and sexual abuse are the result of early marriage.
In a conclusion, the authority should have enforced the existing laws about the age of marriage and implementing programs to delay early marriage. Greater involvement is also needed by the authorities and school administrator to resist parental and social pressures to marry early. Thus, early marriage is more likely to create negative impacts on youngsters.
