"I told them I would rather die than live with this man," said one 15-year-old from Ethiopia, who was forced to marry an older man after her family was displacedForced to leave their homes by droughtA time when there is not enough water and the ground is very dry. .¹

"Sometimes I feel it was better to go by the floods than the current situation I have been put in," said underaged teenager Marry Harrison, who was married off by her parents in exchange for food and financial support after Cyclone Freddy hit MalawiA country in southeastern Africa with a GDP per capita of just 5.29..²

The UN estimates that 640 million girls and women who are alive today were married before the age of 18. At present, around 12 million girls and teens are becoming brides each year. Underage marriage deprives girls of their right to a childhood, experts say, adding that it is impossible for a child to consentAgreement with full knowledge. to such a life-altering decision.

And this is not the only risk for girls forced to marry during childhood. Girls who marry before the age of 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence, less likely to complete secondary education, and they have worse health and economic outcomes than their unmarried peers.³

A recent UnicefA UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. report estimated that the practice could take another 300 years to eliminate entirely.⁴ And new research suggests that 40 million girls could be forced into child marriage by 2050 due to the climate crisis.

The correlation between climate change and child marriage may not be obvious. But girls are often sold into marriage by impoverished families trying to afford food and other basic supplies. As climate change worsens and more families are pushed below the poverty line, the number of forced marriages is expected to surge. 

In Bangladesh, studies found that in years where there was a heatwave lasting more than 30 days, the number of marriages involving girls between the ages of 11 and 14 increased by 50%.⁵

But it is a little-known threat. Shruti Agarwal, a senior adviser at Save the Children, pointed out that "despite these unequal impacts, less than 2% of national climate plans across the globe mention girls".⁶

Amid the nightmare, there is hope. Three of the world's most powerful women - Michelle Obama, Amal ClooneyA lawyer who specialises in human rights. and Melinda French GatesAn American philanthropist. She is the ex-wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. - have united to solve the problem.  Former US first ladyThe official title of a US president's wife. Michelle Obama believes that child marriage "can be solved tomorrow".⁷

It is a lofty goal. Child marriage happens everywhere in the world. The minimum marriage age in England and Wales was only raised to 18 this year. Almost 300,000 minors in the US were married between 2000 and 2018.

But South Asia accounts for the highest number of child brides in the world, with 290 million married children across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, NepalA landlocked country in south Asia. Thirty million people live there. and the MaldivesA country made up of a series of islands in the Indian Ocean. It has a population of half a million.. However, the region is also leading the world in progress on eradicating child marriage, sparking optimism for many of its young girls.

The formula for solving child marriage could be simple. Experts suggest that quality education, including sexual education, reproductiveRelating to the biological process of having children. healthcare, social protection systems and an equal labour market could wipe child marriage off the map.

Others say it will never be so simple. Girls are forced into marriage due to systemic gender inequality, they say - and that will not be fixed for several more lifetimes.

Yes: With the right resources and pressure on lawmakers, child marriages could be ended in a matter of days. All we need to do is make sure that all families are provided for financially.

No: There are many reasons for child marriages beyond simply money. They happen because of intrinsic gender inequality and child abuse, and it is reductiveDealing with or describing something complicated in a simple or too simple way. to imply that money could solve that.

Or... Because of the lack of attention on child marriages it is unlikely that the problem will be solved any time soon. Many people do not even know that the issue will get worse due to climate change.