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1 Background of the Study


Child marriage occurs in various times and places, whereby children are given in
matrimony before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before
puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia,
Oceania and South America in former times it occurred also in Europe. It is frequently
associated with arranged marriage. In some cases only one marriage-partner is a child,
usually the female, due to importance placed upon female virginity, the perceived
inability of women to work for money and to women's shorter reproductive life
relative to men's. An increase in the advocacy of human rights, whether as women's
rights or as children's rights, has caused traditions of child marriage to decrease in
many areas.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 was passed during the tenure of British rule
on pre-partition India. It forbade the marriage of a male younger than twenty-one or a
female younger than eighteen. A marriage fell under the scope of this Act if either of
the contracting parties met the established criterion of a child. South Asia has the
highest prevalence of child marriage of any regions in the world. The act restricted
early marriage by pointing out a number of important points; some of them are stated
here.
"Child" means a person who, if a male, is under twenty-one years of age, and if a
female, is under eighteen years of age; "Child marriage" means a marriage to which
either of the contracting parties is a child. Whoever, being a male above twenty-one
years of age, or being a female above eighteen years of age, contracts a child marriage
shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to one month, or
with fine which may extend to one thousand taka, or with both. Whoever performs
conducts or directs any child marriage shall be punishable with simple imprisonment
which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to one thousand taka,
or with both, unless he proves that he had reason to believe that the marriage was not
a child marriage.

Unfortunately, enforcement efforts are weak, as is indicated by the extremely high


rates of child marriage in the country. A national law passed in 2004 requires that all
births are registered, which would help determine a girls age when she marries.
Consequently there has been a remarkable improvement between 2006 and 2009 in
the proportion of children 5 years old and under, whose births were registered, with
registered births increasing from just 9.8 percent to 53.6 percent. Some legislative
efforts have been made to combat child marriage in recent years and decades. At the
grassroots level, newly formed village governments, or Gram Sarkars, have taken on
the responsibility of combating child marriage. Article 34 of the Childrens Act of
1974 specifically stipulates that penalties will be imposed for cruelty to children.
Stronger enforcement of national child marriage and protection laws is clearly needed,
and while great progress has been made in a short time period to increase birth
registration, more vigilance is needed to push figures even higher (ICRW, 2012).
Even though its illegal to marry a female under 18 there have been such marriages
between the struggling classes of Bangladesh. According to statistics from 2005, 45%
of women then between 25 and 29 were married by the age of 15 in Bangladesh.
According to the State of the Worlds Children-2009 report, 63% of all women aged
2024 were married before the age of 18. The Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs is making progress in increasing women's education and employment
opportunities. This, combined with specific education about child marriage and
cooperation with religious leaders, is hoped to decrease child marriage (UNFPA,
2004).

1.2 Statement of the Problem


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Child marriage is a human rights violation and a practice that undermines efforts to
promote sustainable development. In the last decade, child marriage has affected 58
million girls, many of whom were married against their will and in violation of
international laws and conventions. Early marriage stifles boys and girls abilities to
succeed and grow into empowered men and women, able to better themselves, their
families and their communities (USAID, 2012).
Throughout the world, marriage is regarded as a moment of celebration and a
milestone in adult life. Sadly, the practice of early marriage gives no such cause for
celebration. All too often, the imposition of a marriage partner upon a child means
that a girl or boys childhood is cut short and their fundamental rights are
compromised (Anon, 2001).
Womans age at first marriage is an important indicator of exposure of women to the
risk of pregnancy and is therefore important for understanding the timing of
childbearing and fertility pattern where childbearing occurs only within wedlock.
Early marriage typically increases the risk of childbearing at a young age. Early
pregnancy poses great health risks for a young woman and, if she carries the
pregnancy to term, for her infant; these risks are exacerbated by poverty and
inadequate access to maternal and child health services (Sing and Samara, 1996).
Some studies have shown that teenage fertility has negative economic, social and
health consequences for young mothers as well as for their children. For example, a
panel established by the National Research Council concludes that, women who
become parents as teenagers are at greater risk of social and economic disadvantage
throughout their lives than those who delay children until their twenties. They are less
likely to complete their education, be employed, to earn high wages, and to be happily
married (Kamal, 2009).
Around 15 million young women aged 1519 give birth each year, accounting for
more than 10 per cent of all babies born worldwide. Girls aged 1014 are five times
more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 2024, while girls
aged 1519 are twice as likely to die. Many, if not all, of these deaths take place
within marriage (Oyortey and Pobi, 2003).
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Early marriage is a violation of girls human rights as it deprives her from freedom,
opportunity for personal development, and other rights. It also a developmental
challenge for population pressure, health care costs and lost opportunities of human
development. It is barrier to girls education as young girls drop out from school to get
married which impacts negatively on the community as whole and on the wellbeing of
future generation. This practice stands in direct conflict with the objectives of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); such as the promotion of basic education,
fight against poverty, the prevention of HIV/AIDS and reduction maternal mortality
rate (Jeannette, 2009).
Adolescent childbearing has been a global concern due to possible change of life
course, health and socioeconomic consequences for both individual as well as societal
level. Despite this, little is known on the motherhood at adolescence in Bangladesh.
Dealing with married adolescents and adults women it is found that 64.3% of the ever
married adolescents begun childbearing. Among them 53.6% were already mother and
other 10.7% were pregnant for the first time. Amongst the adolescents, 22.8%
childbirths were mistimed. More than two-thirds of the adult married women started
childbearing in their teen ages. The results of the multivariate logistic regression
analyses reveal that womens education, husbands education, childhood place of
residence, sex of household head, religion, wealth and place of region are important
determinants of adolescent motherhood in Bangladesh (Kamal, 2009).
Bangladeshs adolescent population (ages 1524) was estimated at about 28 million in
2000. This age group will contribute significantly to the incremental population size
of Bangladesh during the next 20 years, increasing by 21 percent to reach 35 million
by 2020. With a total population of about 130 million, adolescents comprise 22
percent of the total population. Births to adolescents will increase from 2.2 million in
2000 to 2.9 million 2020. Unmet need for contraceptives has improved slightly over
the past six years. It is now about 20 percent for girls ages 15 19 and slightly lower
at 18.1 percent for girls ages 2024 (Barkat and Majid, 2003).
Girls married as adolescents are often forced into early childbearing, which has long
been a risk to young mothers; it often leads to debilitating injuries, infant death,
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malnutrition and even maternal death. Girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are twice
as likely to die of pregnancy and childbirth complications as women between the ages
20 and 24 according to UNICEF figures on child marriage in Southern Asia. A 2012
report states that the maternal mortality ratio, i.e. the number of deaths of women in
Bangladesh due to pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births, is as high as 340.
Investing in a girls education is often believed to have been a waste of resources once
shes married, thus girls are less likely than boys to progress beyond primary school.
Girls school retention rates are low in Bangladesh, with only 47 percent attending
some secondary school. Parents often pull their adolescent daughters out of school
when they decide to marry them off. This deprives girls of valuable and necessary
skills required to enter the labour market, therefore denying them the opportunity to
help lift themselves and their family out of poverty. This threatens poverty eradication
and gender equality efforts, as even those women who do enter the labor force are
restricted to the unskilled or low-skilled jobs (ICRW, 2012).
Early marriage is known to have dangerous consequences for the health and
development of girls. Primarily, girls that marry young, experience intense pressure to
become pregnant. For example, in Bangladesh an estimated third of all teenage girls
between the ages of 15 and 19 are mothers or pregnant. Early pregnancy is known to
involve considerable health risks. Firstly, for younger mothers who are still in the
process of maturation, maternal mortality rates are much higher. Teenage mothers are
twice as likely as older mothers to die during childbirth. Secondly, for babies born to
mothers younger than 14, it is 50% more likely for the baby to die than if born to a
mother over 20 years of age. Early marriage also denies and limits girls education
possibilities, obliging them to drop out of school. Girls are subsequently lacking in
skills and unable to integrate the labor market. As a result, their social status is
lowered and mobility restricted, contributing to a society in which young women are
lacking in agency, freedom of movement and power. Domestic violence is also
believed to be more prevalent in the case of early marriage. Altogether, early marriage
perpetuates an unequal society, increasing female vulnerability, powerlessness and
assetlessness, as well as restricting personal and psychological development and
having hazardous health effects. The reasons behind the elevated rate of early
marriage stem from traditional Bangladeshi customs and moral codes. In Bangladesh,
a patriarchal, unequal society prevails. On top of this, poverty is a major underpinning
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factor encouraging early marriage. Young girls are often considered as an economic
burden by their families and their marriage to an older man and into another family is
often a family survival strategy in order to obtain financial security. Additionally,
parents are attracted by the prospect of lower dowry payments if they marry their
daughters off at an early age (IRIN, 2009).
The current legal age at marriage in the country is 18 for women and 21 for men, yet
age restrictions are difficult to enforce because Bangladesh lacks an official birth
registration system that could be used to verify age. According to the 2004
Demographic and Health Survey, 68 percent of women aged 2024 were married at
age 18 or earlier. Although there are no national estimates to quantify the practice of
dowry, one study found that 59 percent of marriages that took place between 1980 and
1991 in four northern villages involved dowry. This figure compares to the 53 percent
reported from a study conducted among women aged 1549 in Matlab. The same
study reported a much lower figure of 13 percent in an urban sample. Researchers
have traced the rising frequency and cost of dowry in South Asia to a surplus of
marriageable women relative to marriageable men, the result of imbalances in age
structure combined with large age differences between spouses (Amin, 2008).
Taking this gloomy picture into account, this study has attempted to analyze the
impact of early marriage on women.

1.3 Literature review


USAID (2012) stated that, the consequences of child marriage are severe. National
and international indicators on maternal health, education, food security, poverty
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eradication, HIV/AIDS, and gender equality are all negatively correlated with high
child marriage rates. Child brides are under great pressure to prove their fertility,
which often results in pregnancies when their bodies are not yet ready, resulting in
greater maternal and newborn morbidity. Married girls under 15 are five times more
likely to die in childbirth than married women in their 20s. They are also more likely
to experience complications of childbirth including obstetric fistula and
hemorrhaging. Child brides are also at greater risk for contracting HIV and other
sexually transmitted diseases due to their inability to reject unsafe sexual practices.
The study emphasized on early marriage of women and its effects on women in
different parts of the world. But this study was conducted on reproductive health
status, female schooling attainment of early married women and their position in their
families.
Amin (2008) stated in his study that, marriage customs in Bangladesh vary by region,
complicating national level efforts to eliminate some of the more harmful practices,
such as early marriage and dowry demands, that undermine the status of women.
Dowry demands in addition to exacting an intolerable financial toll on poor
households have in extreme cases led to gruesome crimes, such as murder or assaults
on women whose families could not meet escalating dowry costs. The Bangladesh
penal code includes many sanctions against harmful marriage practices. The Child
Marriage Restraint Act dates back to 1921, dowry payments were first banned in
1980, and sanctions were further strengthened in 1985. Men who ask for dowry at
marriage can face fines and imprisonment. Yet because both age at marriage and
dowry are related to competitive processes in the marriage market, the brute force
approach of legal bans and sanctions has not proven sufficient to curtail these harmful
practices.
Jensen and Thornton (2003) stated in their study that, many women in the
developing world are subject to marriage at an early age. Most such women have little
choice in the age at which they marry, or whom they marry. Early marriage can
adversely affect women along several dimensions, such as early termination of
education and onset of childbearing, and women's status and position within the
household. Women who marry young tend to have less education and begin
childrearing earlier, and have less decision-making power in the household. They are
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also more likely to experience domestic violence. Households may marry their
daughters at young ages because of the high costs of raising children (food, clothing,
education and health care). This is particularly likely in contexts where fertility is
high, and parents have many children. In such cases, girls may be viewed as an
economic burden, so parents may prefer to marry them out of the household at an
earlier age. On the demand side, from the perspective of the groom, younger brides
are less likely to have had previous sexual contact, which, due to social norms and the
prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, may be considered
important or essential to the groom and or his family. The study shows logically the
reasons behind early marriage. But the study does not analyze the consequences of
early marriage.
Erica and Ambrus (2006) in their study provided empirical evidence of the influence
of adolescent marriage opportunities on female schooling attainment and gives
predictions of the impact of imposing universal age-of-consent laws. Using data from
rural Bangladesh, they explore the commonly cited hypotheses that women attain less
schooling as a result of marrying young. The results indicate that marriage age
matters. Each additional year that marriage is delayed is associated with 0.30
additional years of schooling and 6.5% higher probability of literacy. Delayed
marriage is also associated with a significant increase in use of preventive health care
services, some of which appears to be independent of the change in schooling,
indicating separate age effects of delaying marriage. In the context of competitive
marriage markets they show that the above results can be used to obtain estimates of
the change in equilibrium female education that would arise from introducing a
minimum legal age of marriage. The resulting analysis implies that, enforcing
universal age of consent laws would have a strong positive impact on female
schooling. The study does not discuss the fact behind the educational problem after
marriage and unlike their study this study focuses on how and why early marriage
hampers women education.
Barkat and Majid (2003) prepared a paper on adolescent reproductive health (ARH)
status in Bangladesh is part of a series of assessments in 13 countries in Asia and Near
East. The purpose of this assessment was to highlight the reproductive health status in
each country, within the context of the lives of adolescent boys and girls. The main
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causes of mortality in young mothers are toxemia, abortion, and obstructed labor
(caused by immaturity of the birth canal). In addition to its associated health
consequences, early childbearing has an adverse effect on a young mothers
socioeconomic status. It cuts short her education, limits her ability to earn income for
the family, and can lead to marital difficulties. Adolescents appear to be poorly
informed with regard to their own sexuality, physical well-being, health, and bodies.
Whatever knowledge they have, moreover, is incomplete and confused. Low rates of
educational attainment, limited sex education activities, and inhibited attitudes toward
sex contribute to this ignorance. The study emphasizes mainly on reproductive health
problems of early married women. Unlike this one the study emphasizes not only in
reproductive health problems but also many other variables connected to early
marriage.
Anon (2001) conducted this study on global perspective that focuses on early
marriage, the marriage of children under the age of 18 from a human rights
perspective. The study shows that many Bangladeshi girls are married soon after
puberty, partly to free their parents from economic burden and partly to protect the
girls sexual purity. It has been stated that early marriage inevitably denies children of
school age their right to the education they need for their personal development, their
preparation for adulthood, and their effective contribution to the future wellbeing of
their family and society. On average, women with seven or more years of education
marry four years later and have 2.2 fewer children than those with no education. In
Bangladesh, it is clear a girl will be withdrawn from school if a good marriage
prospect arises. In rural areas, secondary education often means that a girl must leave
home to live in a school dormitory. Parents fear that this may expose her to risks
including premarital sex and pregnancy. The removal from school of a young girl
limits her opportunities to develop her intellect. She also loses out on socializing,
making friends outside her family circle, and many other useful skills. This reduces
her chances of developing her own independent identity. Indeed, in the old patriarchal
view this is an important reason for taking her away. The study emphasized on early
view this is an important reason for taking her away. The study emphasized on early
marriage of women and its effects on women in different parts of the world and the
data which are used based on the secondary sources. But this study was conducted on

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reproductive health status, female schooling attainment of early married women and
their position in their families.
PI (2010) mentioned each day, more than 25,000 young girls become child brides,
joining almost 60 million girls who have married before their eighteenth birthday.
Within the next ten years, over 100 million girls in the developing world are predicted
to be married before they reach adulthood. The practice of child marriage is
essentially confined to the poorest 20 percent of the world population, most
commonly in sub -Saharan Africa and South Asia. For many, child marriage is seen as
a way to protect young girls, ensuring they have a man to care for them.
Unfortunately, early marriage does not protect girls but leaves them physically and
socially vulnerable to illness, poverty, and gender inequality. Child brides are at a
heightened risk of sexual and physical abuse, reproductive health complications,
HIV/AIDS infection, and other adverse physiological and social outcomes. Young
brides are also forced to forego education, employment opportunities, and their
general adolescence, ultimately perpetuating gender inequality and the cycle of
poverty. Without political attention and global action, this practice will continue to
endanger the health and wellbeing of millions of children each year.

1.4 Rationale of the Study


The status of women is an important factor affecting the overall development of a
country. The total development of Bangladesh will undoubtedly be hampered if the
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status of women, constituting about 50% of the countrys population, remains as low
as it is today. In Bangladesh women fell deprived in every sphere of their lives. Right
from their birth, women are neglected in food sharing, education, work, independent
thinking, and right to property, choice and matters of decision making. As a large
number of people live below the poverty line as a result of insufficient job
opportunity, lack of educational qualification, migration, natural disaster and other
situations they treat female child as a burden for they cant earn money. This social
belief increases the rate of early marriage. Early marriage is such a social disease that
hampers a girls both personal and social life. Reproductive complications, illiteracy,
lack of participation in household decision making, domestic violence are the
immediate consequences of early marriage. However, to formulate effective policy to
give directions for the reduction of early marriage of women and to improve their
livelihood pattern further study is essential to conduct for the betterment of those who
are the worst sufferer of this.

1.5 Objectives of the study


The broad objective of the study is to find out the impact of early marriage on
womens life and the specific objectives area) To explore the reproductive health status of young mothers.
b) To reflect the impact of early marriage on educational status of women.
c) To identify the decision making power of the women who got married in early
age.
d) To know the quality of marital life of the women who got married in early age.

1.6 Hypotheses of the Study


a) There is a relationship between age difference between husband and wife
and person who takes important decisions of family.
b) There is a relationship between educational status and victims of domestic
violence.
c) There is a relationship between age at marriage and problems faced during
first pregnancy.
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d) There is a relationship between educational position before marriage and


continuation of study after marriage.
e) There is a relationship between age difference between husband and wife
and relation with husband.

1.7 Variables of the Study


There are two types of variables in the study which are independent and dependent
variables. The independent variable is early marriage and the dependent variables are
educational status, occupation, health status, financial condition, educational
attainment before marriage, continuation of study after marriage, reproductive
behavior, number of children, age at having first child, family planning, evaluation of
womens opinion in the family, domestic violence and many others.

1.8 Conceptual Framework


Early marriage

Reproductive Health Hazards

Educational Barriers

Age at Marriage

Familial problems
Social Attitude

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towards Women

Perception

Availability

Age at First

towards

of

Intercourse

Education

Educational

Evaluation of

Facilities

Womens Opinion

Use of Birth
Control Methods
Educational Attainment
Age at First
Conception
Problems Faced

before Marriage
Commitment about
Continuation of Study in
Marriage

during Pregnancy

Continuation of Study
Number of Children

Dominating Tendency
of Husband
Domestic Violence
Family Breakdown
Divorce

after Marriage
Remarriage

1.9 Operational Definition


Early Marriage:
Early marriage refers to any form of marriage that takes place before a child has
reached 18 years. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW), the most comprehensive international bill of rights for
women, states that any betrothal or marriage of a child should not have any legal
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status. The committee that monitors this convention states further in General
Recommendation 21 (article 16 (2)) that the minimum age for marriage for both male
and female should be 18 years (Anon, 2001).
In this study the term early marriage refers to any form of marriage where the bride
is less than eighteen years old.

Aftermath:
The verbatim meaning of aftermath is the consequences of an event.
In this study the term aftermath refers to the consequences of early marriage that are
reproductive health hazards, educational barriers, familial problems and so on.

1.10 Limitations of the Study


No study is regarded as perfect; the major limitation of the study was the purposive
sampling technique where reliability of the criterion is questionable. The sample size
is considered as minimum sample size by many researchers but if the sample size
would have been larger it could be more representative study. Limited resource of
time and budget along with lack of proper co-operation of the respondents also
hindered the extent of the study.

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