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Breaking the Cycle of Child Marriage: Root Causes, Intersectional Vulnerabilities, and Solutions

Published : Monday, 12 October, 2026 at 1:34 PM

By Mst. Anjuman Ara Sumi

Child marriage is a severed violation of human rights that disproportionately affects girls and young women in Bangladesh. This harmful practice deprives adolescent girls of their fundamental right to make decisions about their own lives, including when and whom to marry. By denying girls the right to make decisions about their health and reproductive life, and freedom of choice, child marriage both reflects and reinforces deeply rooted gender inequalities.

Bangladesh continues to face a significant challenge, with the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia. Nearly 47 percent of women aged 18 to 24 were married before reaching the age of 18. At the current rate of decline, estimated at just 2.1 percent per year, eliminating child marriage could take as long as 215 years. The practice disproportionately affects girls from rural areas, low-income households, and those with limited educational opportunities, placing them at greater risk of poor health outcomes and reduced life opportunities.

Child marriage frequently leads to adolescent pregnancy, which remains a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality among older adolescent girls due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. It is also closely associated with intimate partner violence, with 62 percent of married adolescent girls reporting experiences of such violence in 2024. These consequences not only undermine the well-being and rights of girls but also hinder broader social and economic development.

Child marriage is not only a human rights and development challenge but also a critical impediment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls. Target 5.3 specifically calls for the elimination of all harmful practices, including child, early, and forced marriage. While Bangladesh has made progress in reducing child marriage, the pace remains insufficient to meet national and global commitments. Recent data indicate that the prevalence of child marriage among women aged 20-24 has declined from approximately 62 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2025, demonstrating progress but also highlighting persistent challenges and inequalities. Despite these gains, Bangladesh continues to have the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia, underscoring the need for accelerated and coordinated action to achieve SDG Target 5.3 by addressing the underlying social, economic, and structural drivers of the practice.

The root causes of child marriage in Bangladesh are multifaceted and deeply entrenched. The root causes of child and forced marriage are complex and intersecting. Beyond gender inequality, girls' vulnerability to child marriage is shaped by multiple social identities and circumstances. Factors such as educational attainment, economic status, social class, ethnicity, minority status, religious and cultural norms, geographic location, and exposure to discrimination often interact to create overlapping forms of disadvantage. These intersectional factors can significantly limit girls' access to education, information, protection, and decision-making opportunities, increasing their risk of child and forced marriage. As a result, girls from marginalized and socially excluded communities frequently face heightened vulnerability and barriers to exercising their rights and agency.

Understanding these intersecting vulnerabilities is essential for designing effective interventions, as the experiences and needs of girls are not uniform. Addressing child marriage therefore requires tailored, inclusive, and context-specific approaches that recognize and respond to the diverse realities faced by different groups of girls and adolescents.

They stem from persistent gender inequality, harmful social norms, and economic hardship that continue to limit girls' opportunities and decision-making power. Families facing poverty may view early marriage as a coping strategy to reduce financial pressure or perceived security risks. At the same time, limited access to quality and inclusive education, health care, and protection services, particularly sexual and reproductive health information and services, increases girls' vulnerability to early marriage.

These challenges are further exacerbated by climate-induced disasters and humanitarian crises that disrupt livelihoods, education, and community protection systems. Ambiguities in legal frameworks, weak enforcement mechanisms, and limited financial and human resources for prevention and response efforts also constrain progress. Addressing child marriage therefore requires a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach that tackles its underlying causes while strengthening systems, services, and opportunities that empower girls and protect their rights.

Development Practitioner, The writer works at both the humanitarian and development context of Bangladesh for 14 years in different research, international organizations and the United National WFP.