Beyond the statistic: exploring the process of early marriage decision-making using qualitative findings from Ethiopia and India

Abstract

BackgroundEarly marriage of girls (marriage < 18 years) is a pervasive abuse of rights that compromises maternal and child health. The common conceptualization of this practice as an outcome undermines the nuanced and sometimes protracted decision-making process of whom and when to marry.MethodsThis paper uses qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with females aged 13–23 years who participated in child marriage prevention programs and either married early or cancelled/postponed early marriage, and their key marital decision-makers in Oromia, Ethiopia (n = 105) and Jharkhand, India (n = 100).ResultsSocial norms and the loss of a parent were stressors sustaining early marriage across contexts. Participants described three stages of early marriage: initiation, negotiation and final decision-making. Girls were infrequently involved in the initiation of early marriage proposals, though their decision-making autonomy was greater in groom-initiated proposals. The negotiation phase was most open to extra-familial influences such as early marriage prevention program staff and teachers. Across settings, fathers were the most important final decision-makers.ConclusionsThe breadth and number of individual and social influences involved in marital decision-making in these settings means that effective early marriage prevention efforts must involve girls, families and communities. While underlying norms need to be addressed, programs should also engage and enable the choice, voice and agency of girls. Empowerment was important in this sample, but generally required additional social resources and support to have impact. Girls with greater social vulnerability, such as those without a male caretaker, had more compromised voice, choice and agency with regards to early marriage. Understanding early marriage decision-making as a process, rather than an endpoint, will better equip programs and policies that aim to eliminate early marriage to address the underlying norms that perpetuate this practice, and is an important lens through which to support the health and human rights of women and girls globally.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12905-018-0631-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Associations between village-level norms on marital age and marital choice outcomes among adolescent wives in rural Niger

“…Our findings suggest that marital choice and age at marriage are strongly interconnected within these communities, and that both descriptive and injunctive norms may play an important role. These findings, the first of their kind from Niger, extend work largely from South Asia that highlights gendered restrictions against girls’ mate selection or even their perceptions of acceptability in choosing their spouse, and the strong association between early marriage and lack of marital choice among girls ( Allendorf, 2017 ; McDougal et al, 2018 ), by demonstrating the importance of social norms in reinforcing and linking these practices.…”

Mapping the patchwork: Exploring the subnational heterogeneity of child marriage in India

“…Child marriage is driven by normative values regarding the status, value and rights of women and girls, as well as economic, social, legal and safety considerations ( Raj, 2010 ; McDougal et al, 2018 ; Raj et al, 2019 ; Jha, Minni, Priya, & Chatterjee, 2016 ; Lee-Rife, Malhotra, Warner, & Glinski, 2012 ). Research from around the world has revealed a complex nexus of factors that contribute to this practice ( Bicchieri, Jiang, & Lindemans, 2014 ; Fenn, Edmeades, Lantos, & Onovo, 2015 ; Islam, Haque, & Hossain, 2016 ; UNICEF-UNFPA, 2019 ).…”

“…Parents in these settings often see no motivation to postpone marriage past puberty. By marrying off a daughter at a young age, a family is able to protect the honor of the family, and of the child herself, while ensuring that she attains the economic security and respectable status afforded to a married woman ( McDougal et al, 2018 ). Parents also perceive that girls who are married earlier are at lower risk for sexual violence, and less likely to engage in premarital sexual activities ( Verma, Sinha, & Khanna, 2013 ), despite more than a decade of evidence from India highlighting greater risk for sexual violence in marriage for those married as minors ( Raj et al, 2010 ; Begum, Donta, Nair, & Prakasam, 2015 ).…”

The Factors Causing Early Marriages, Their Attitudes and Their Effects on Women's Health

“…27 Dünyada ve ülkemizde yıllardır devam eden bu evliliklerde, erken evlen(diril)en kızların sesini duymak ve tercihini neden bu yönde kullandıklarını belirlemek, özellikle bu evliliklerde kritik rol oynayan kadınların erken yaşta evliliğe yönelik tutumlarını ve yaklaşımlarını ortaya koymak, bu sorunun daha nitelikli ve derinlemesine bir şekilde ele alınmasını sağlayacaktır. 32,33 Gage, erken evlilikleri önlemek için Etiyopya'da yaptığı kesitsel bir çalışmada; kız çocuk evliliklerine yönelik davranış ve tutumun bu evliliklerin gerçekleşmesinde önemli bir etken olduğunu, bireylerin erken evliliğe yönelik davranış, tutum ve kalıp yargılarının değiştirilmesi ve geliştirilmesi ile erken evliliklerin önlenebileceğini ifade etmiştir. 34 Vandana ve ark.nın, yaş aralığı 12-18 yıl olan kız öğrencilerin erken evlilik ve erken gebeliğe yönelik bilgi ve tutumlarını değerlendirdikleri kesitsel bir çalışmada; kız çocuklarının erken evlilik ve erken gebeliğe yönelik bilgi düzeylerinin düşük, tutumlarının ise olumlu olduğu, erken evlilikleri ve erken gebeliği destekledikleri belirlenmiştir.…”