Child Marriage, Early Childbearing, Low Educational Attainment for Girls, and Their Impacts in Uganda

Abstract

BACKGROUND TO THIS SERIES Despite substantial progress over the last two decades, girls still have on average lower levels of educational attainment than boys at the secondary level in many countries. This is in part because many girls are married or have children before the age of 18, often before they may be physically and emotionally ready to become wives and mothers. Educating girls, ending child marriage, and preventing early childbearing is essential for girls to have agency, not only as future wives and mothers, but also beyond those roles. It is also essential for countries to reach their full development potential. ą Finally, for the broader challenge of gender-based violence and inequality, community-based interventions to work with men, women, leaders and service providers can also be beneficial.

The influence of adolescent age at first union on physical IPV and fertility in Uganda: A path analysis

“…Uganda has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, [1] high levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) [2,3] and also very young ages at first union. [4] In 2016, the total fertility rate in Uganda was 5.4, which currently is the fifth highest in the world (preceded only by Niger, Burundi, Mali and Somalia). [5] Uganda also has the second highest age-specific fertility rate.…”

“…However, it is known that women of higher educational status and women living in urban areas have lower fertility rates than women in rural areas or with a lower educational level. [8][9][10] Wodon et al [4] have found that in countries where family planning programmes have not led to a decrease in fertility rates, entering into marriage at a later age has been the most effective way of decreasing fertility rates. In Uganda, a large proportion of women are married by the time they reach the end of their adolescent years.…”

“…In Uganda, a large proportion of women are married by the time they reach the end of their adolescent years. [4] Young age at first union -whether through legal marriage or simply by cohabitation -could therefore be a proximate factor contributing to the high fertility rate in Uganda. It has also been found that low education levels and little bargaining power -both of which are repercussions of a young marital age -were key factors in explaining high levels of IPV in the certain countries.…”

“…It has also been found that low education levels and little bargaining power -both of which are repercussions of a young marital age -were key factors in explaining high levels of IPV in the certain countries. [4] Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of age at first union on fertility, with experience of physical IPV considered as an intermediate effect.…”

Uganda Economic Update, 11th Edition, May 2018

“…should the operators be profit or non-profit), (ii) the status of teachers and how they will be managed, (iii) the number of operators that are allowed and the upper limit of the number of schools an operator can manage, and (iv) the funding modalities and criteria for operators that government would use to allocate public funds. 83 A World Bank study (Wodon 2018) estimated that ending child marriage and early childbirths in Uganda would result in savings for the government of US$ 257 million (current values) by 2030. However, further analysis would be required to determine the exact savings over the 2019-25 period.…”