Early female marriage in the developing world

Associations Between Early Marriage and Young Women’s Marital and Reproductive Health Outcomes: Evidence from India

“…[11][12][13] Likewise, studies in diverse settings have found that females who marry at young ages may be less capable than those who marry later of asserting themselves in their marriage, which may place them at higher risk of experiencing physical and sexual violence. [14][15][16][17][18][19] Moreover, early marriage typically coincides with early childbearing-and young, first-time mothers face an increased risk of maternal and infant mortality. [20][21][22][23] In addition, emerging evidence suggests that early marriage may place young women at heightened risk for STIs, including HIV.…”

Marriage Markets in Developing Countries

“…Jensen and Thornton (2003) allude to both supply and demand side causes of early marriage. On the supply side, households may want to marry off daughters at a young age because they are viewed as an economic burden either due to the high costs of providing their support or because of economic shocks, such as bad harvest or the illness or death of a primary earner.…”

“…An additional incentive for early marriage is that lower dowry amounts suffice for parents to get relatively higher-status husbands for their daughters when they marry young (Ambrus and Field, 2008). Parents also view early marriage as a way to preserve female virginity, to prevent sexual advances from men, and to avoid premarital pregnancies (Jensen and Thornton, 2003).…”

“…On the demand side, men prefer younger brides because they have less autonomy and are more likely to conform to the wishes of the husband and his family (Caldwell et al, 1983;Jensen and Thornton, 2003). In addition, younger brides also have a longer reproductive life, which may be important in regions that have high desired fertility coupled with high infant mortality rates (Jensen and Thornton, 2003).…”

“…In addition, younger brides also have a longer reproductive life, which may be important in regions that have high desired fertility coupled with high infant mortality rates (Jensen and Thornton, 2003).…”