{"id":3054,"date":"2023-11-26T23:20:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T23:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/2023\/11\/26\/mothers-take-the-center-stage-to-end-child-marriage\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T10:14:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:14:18","slug":"mothers-take-the-center-stage-to-end-child-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalcommunities.org\/blog\/mothers-take-the-center-stage-to-end-child-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Mothers Take the Center Stage to End Child Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sushmita Mukherjee, PCI India and Dennis Mello, Global Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proposals for marriage began coming for Pushpa three years ago, when she was only 15 years old. Pushpa felt too young to be married and wanted to continue her studies, something that many girls in Jharkhand – her home region of India – are unable to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jharkhand has some of the highest rates of child and early marriage<\/strong> in India, which exceeded 32% according to the most recent National Family Health Survey<\/a>. Globally, nearly 1 in 5 girls<\/a> are married before the age of 18. In some countries this figure is closer to 2 in 5 girls, or 40%, with 12% being wedded prior to the age of 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Child, early and forced marriage is a human rights violation<\/strong><\/a> and a form of gender-based violence (GBV). Child marriage<\/a> cuts short girls\u2019 education and obstructs pathways for healthy living, growth and development. It often leads to early pregnancies, which are dangerous for young girls. It also increases the risks<\/a> of acquiring HIV and experiencing other forms of GBV.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The practice of child marriage is intricately linked to a variety of sociocultural, religious and economic factors<\/strong>, such as poverty, inequality, conflict and barriers to educational opportunities. Each of these factors plays a major role in the communities where child marriage remains stubbornly high despite policy and program efforts designed to prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Pushpa, many girls around the world want education, but have few options beyond becoming wives and mothers. Parents of adolescent girls often face socioeconomic pressures<\/strong> to accept offers of early marriage. And many mothers, like Pushpa\u2019s mother Rukmani, were also married before the age of 18 and had no say in determining their own futures.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even where laws prohibit child marriage, changing social and gender norms<\/strong> is key to preventing this practice. Mothers can be strong allies in this fight and advocate for girls\u2019 continued education.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Umang: Bringing Normative Change around Child Marriage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In 2019, Global Communities<\/a>, in partnership with the International Center for Research on Women<\/a>, designed the Umang project, which is a comprehensive approach to preventing child and early marriage in Jharkhand, India<\/strong>. The project partnered with the Government of Jharkhand<\/a> to test the model in two districts, Godda and Jamtara, and is now implemented by PCI India<\/strong><\/a>, an independent organization created by Global Communities in the spirit of locally led development.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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