Child Marriage and Education: A Major Challenge

The issue of child marriage is getting renewed attention among policy makers. This is in part because child marriage remains highly prevalent despite efforts by many developing country governments to discourage and even outlaw the practice. It constitutes a violation of the rights of the girls who are forced to marry early, and it profoundly affects their life through substantially lower education prospects, health complications (such as vesico-vaginal fistulae, a higher likelihood of acquiring HIV/AIDS, and higher levels of infant mortality with early pregnancies), and higher risks of violence in the home as well as social exclusion. On the basis of physiological and social criteria