EARLY MARRIAGES AND IT’S IMPACT ON WOMEN
Marriage is the lawfully or properly recognized union of a man and a woman as partners in a relationship. It is a legal and socially approved way to continue the generation. There are many categories of marriages from which force marriage is one category. An early marriage entails where at least one or instead both a party is a child and early marriage is that marriage in which one or both parties are below eighteen or below maturity. In Islam, marriage is a way by which a man and woman can concern for each other in a way that is legal and pure, produce and live in peace and harmony. It is a means of expressive and sexual gratification, and also a form of love as it represents obedience to Allah. The contract of marriage is a formal agreement, and for the agreement to be legal, certain conditions must exist. First and primary of these conditions is that there must be permission of both the parties.
Early marriage is a marriage before the age of 18. 18 year is the age of adulthood when adults become sensible and responsible and ready to bear the responsibilities. When Parents wed their children before reaching the age of 18 then it is called early marriage. Early marriage is common in developing countries and traditional societies where people have low economic resources and awareness and they follow their traditional norms and values. Parents do not empower their girls because they have low economic resources. They marry them early to reduce the burden. Early marriage is against the human right. it affects women education as those girls who get marry early before the age of 18 do not complete their education because of household pressure and traditional norms and value so it affects countries development as well as they cannot socialize their children properly and educate them properly. According to mother Teresa “if you educate a man you educate the individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate the nation”
Pakistan is developing country and early marriages prevail in rural areas of Pakistan due to traditional norms and values, patriarchic society and low economic resources as well as religious factor promote early marriages and effects women education that create illiteracy and over population. In Sindh some Sindhi families promote early marriages because of their culture and traditional values. Early marriages also affect boys. When they face responsibilities in a very young age where they are not economically strong they get indulged in criminal acts and take drugs to reduce the tension.
The act of wedding young ladies at a young age is most customary in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In any case, in the Middle East, North Africa and different parts of Asia, marriage at or not long after pubescence is normal among those living conservative ways of life. There are also particular parts of West and East Africa and of South Asia where relational unions much earlier than youth are not unusual, while relational unions of young ladies between the ages of 16 and 18 are normal in parts of Latin America and in pockets of Eastern Europe.
Effects on Education
Education is more important for the girls as the girl is educated she can understand the health issues, spacing between the children and family size as well because she has the ability to take decisions. Due to early marriage girls cannot continue their education and due to illiterate affect the whole society. In poorer families parents consider their daughters as economic burden and marry them early to reduce the burden as well as they considers the education is not important for girls and it’s wastage of money because girl’s education is only beneficial for her husband not for her parents. In some traditional societies parents consider that those girls who get education often refuse the traditional norms and get spoil. According to (United Nations,2000) education is a right and in world 115 million children from which 62 million girls are deprived from their educational right. On the other hand in those countries where girls are educated there is low ratio of early marriage e.g. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. Those girls who get secondary education is more likely to refuse early marriage (Mathur et al. 2003).
According to studies in 42 countries women age from 20-24 who attended primary education refuse to marry early or before the age of 18. In Senegal 20% of girls who attended primary education marry after the age of 18 whereas 36% of girls marry early or before the age 18 and they have no education. In Philippine 37% of girls marry after the age of 18 and they have primary education whereas 33% marry early before 18 and they have no education (UNICEF,2005). Further studies reveal that Parents do not invest money on girl’s education due to low economic resources and gender inequality and marry them early to reduce the burden. Studies revealed that those countries where early marriage rate is high there is low ratio of education (Jain et al. 2006). More studies reveal that in traditional societies girls marry early with the older husband and he does not allow her younger wife to continue her education because they consider education spoil the young girls so it’s better for girls to stay at home and fulfill the responsibilities of her husband pay attention on her household work. Sometime husband’s families also do not invest money on young girl’s education and do not allow her to continue her education as well as some schools also do not allow the married girls to carry on their education after the marriage because they consider it’s harmful for other students and effect the educational environment. Those girls who marry early and do not continue her education have more likely less decision power and she cannot educate her children properly and her daughter likely to marry early and dropout from school (Lewis,2009). Whereas According to (OCHCR,2013) in 42 countries analyzed that the girls who get primary education refuse to marry early before the age of 18. In Senegal 20% of women who get primary education get marry after the age of 18 as compared to 32% of girls who do not get primary education and marry early before 18.
Pakistan is a developing country. There are many social issues which are interred linked and multi harm effects it has. Early marriage is social issue because it creates many other issues like health problems, family breakdown, high population and education, also indicated that traditional societies, social factor and low economic resources are the cause of early marriages. The result indicates that social factor is the main cause of early marriages. Khairpur is a patriarchal society people strictly follow their norms and values and they have certain family structure so they prefer early marriages to protect their daughters and maintain family honor.
Girls are treated as burden in our societies but the reality is not as. Girls should be treated equally as male because an educated and healthy mother can better make a healthy family rather that immature and uneducated. Results and literature which revived argues that poverty, illiteracy, traditional values, economic and social factors are involved which create such an issues in the societies.
The early marriages affects the women reproductive health issues as they are not educated so they have no knowledge regarding reproductive health issues as well as early marriages create psychological issues among young girls who get marry early, due to early marriages girls cannot continue their education after early marriage because they have family responsibilities as well society and schools administration do not allow them to complete their education after marriage.
Mohammassd Ali Wassan
