Child, Early and Forced Marriages in Eurasia: A Sustainable Development Challenge

Across Eurasia, child, early and forced marriages (CEFM) persist due to gaps in legal protections and inadequate law enforcement. These practices disproportionately affect girls and young women from rural communities, low-income households, ethnic minorities, and conflict-affected areas.

Archaic Practices and Their Impact

CEFM exposes girls and young women to multiple harms, including:

• Physical and sexual violence
• Health complications from early pregnancies
• Exploitation

Furthermore, child marriage disrupts education and economic prospects, limiting career development and economic independence, thereby perpetuating intergenerational poverty. The inherent power imbalance in such marriages leaves victims vulnerable to coercion and abuse.

CEFM as a Grave Human Rights Violation

Child and forced marriages constitute a serious violation of human rights with profound, long-lasting consequences for individuals, families, communities, and societies. While cultural, economic, and legal contexts vary across Eurasian countries, common underlying causes exist.

Underlying Causes of Child, Early and Forced Marriages

1. Cultural Acceptance and Patriarchal Values: Traditional gender roles and the protection of family “honor” sustain the practice.
2. Poverty: Families may resort to child marriage to alleviate financial strain or to secure perceived protection for daughters.
3. Social Pressures: Marriage is sometimes viewed as a safeguard against sexual violence.

Legal Frameworks and Enforcement Challenges

Variations Across Eurasian Countries

An analysis of seven countries—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—reveals significant variation in CEFM rates and legal responses:

• Georgia reports 14% of women aged 20–24 married before 18, with rural rates as high as 25%.
• Uzbekistan has the lowest prevalence at 3.4%, with regional rates up to 11%.
• Marginalized ethnic minorities experience higher rates due to social exclusion, poverty, and isolation.

Under-reporting and limited awareness hinder accurate prevalence assessment.

Legal Inconsistencies and Enforcement Gaps

• Kyrgyzstan criminalizes a broad range of offenses related to CEFM, including kidnapping for marriage and coercion.
• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Tajikistan prosecute abduction for forced marriage under general kidnapping laws.
• Georgia prosecutes abduction under illegal deprivation of liberty.

However, enforcement is often weak, and legal loopholes allow perpetrators to evade punishment. For example, Azerbaijan and Russia exempt perpetrators from liability if victims are voluntarily released, ignoring social stigma that pressures victims to remain with perpetrators.

Successful Approaches and Recommendations

Armenia’s Progress

Armenia ranks among the top 10 countries worldwide for reducing child marriage rates since 2001. This success is attributed to the country’s strong cultural emphasis on education as a core identity and family expectation.

Urgent Need for Comprehensive Legal Reform

1. Set the minimum marriage age at 18 without exceptions (currently only Azerbaijan and Georgia have done so).
2. Close legal loopholes and harmonize laws across constitutional, civil, family, and customary domains.
3. Strengthen governance and justice systems to ensure rigorous law enforcement.
4. Implement legal penalties to hold perpetrators accountable and deter future offenses.
5. Develop effective mechanisms for consistent legal compliance at all government levels, including local enforcement.

Empowering Youth and Civil Society

• Invest in education, skills development, and resources to provide adolescents with alternatives to early marriage.
• Use financial incentives to keep girls in school.
• Support civil society organizations in advocacy, service provision, and bridging communities with policymakers.
• Governments should foster enabling environments for civil society, ensuring freedom of operation and collaboration.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Addressing CEFM directly supports several SDGs, including:

• SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being by reducing health risks associated with early pregnancies.
• SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education by preventing school dropouts caused by child marriage.
• SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by eliminating harmful practices and violence.
• SDG 10: Reduce inequalities by protecting marginalized ethnic minorities and vulnerable populations.
• SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies by strengthening legal frameworks and justice systems.

Conclusion

Eliminating child, early and forced marriages in Eurasia requires a multifaceted approach centered on legal reform, education, empowerment, and community engagement. By aligning efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals, governments and civil society can collaboratively eradicate this harmful practice and promote the rights, health, and well-being of girls and young women across the region.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality
   • The article focuses on child, early and forced marriages (CEFM), which disproportionately affect girls and young women, highlighting gender inequality and discrimination.
2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • Health complications from early pregnancies and exposure to physical and sexual violence are discussed, linking to health and well-being.
3. SDG 4: Quality Education
   • Child marriage disrupts education and economic prospects, emphasizing the need for inclusive and equitable education.
4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The article highlights legal loopholes, inadequate law enforcement, and the need for justice system reforms to combat CEFM.
5. SDG 1: No Poverty
   • Poverty is identified as a significant underlying cause of child marriage, linking the issue to poverty reduction efforts.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality
   • Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • Target 3.7: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including family planning, information and education.
3. SDG 4: Quality Education
   • Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.
   • Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training.
4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
   • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
5. SDG 1: No Poverty
   • Target 1.2: Reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

1. Indicator for SDG 5.3: Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18.
   • The article provides statistics such as 14% of women aged 20–24 in Georgia married before 18, indicating this indicator.
2. Indicator for SDG 4.1 and 4.5: Completion rates of primary and secondary education by gender.
   • The article discusses disruption of education due to child marriage, implying measurement through education completion rates.
3. Indicator for SDG 16.3 and 16.6: Number of legal cases prosecuted related to child, early and forced marriage; existence and enforcement of laws prohibiting CEFM.
   • The article mentions differences in criminal laws and enforcement challenges, implying these indicators.
4. Indicator for SDG 1.2: Poverty rates among vulnerable populations.
   • The article links poverty to child marriage prevalence, suggesting poverty statistics as an indicator.
5. Additional implied indicators:
   • Rates of early pregnancies and health complications among adolescent girls (SDG 3).
   • Access to education and financial incentives to keep girls in school (SDG 4 and SDG 1).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

Source: theglobalist.com