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WASHINGTON, March 8: TThe enormous impact that Covid-19 has had on women in some countries could result in an additional 10 million child marriages this decade, according to a new analysis released Monday by Unicef.
“School closures, economic stress, service interruptions, pregnancy and the death of parents due to the pandemic are putting the most vulnerable girls at higher risk of child marriage,” said a study titled “Covid-19. : A Threat to Progress Against Child Marriage “.
That trend, if confirmed, would represent a serious setback from recent years of progress against child marriage.
In the past 10 years, according to the study, the proportion of young women worldwide who married as children had decreased by 15 percent, from nearly one in four to one in five.
That progress “is now under threat,” said the study, published on International Women’s Day.
“Covid-19 has made a situation that was already difficult for millions of girls worse,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“Schools closed, isolation from friends and support networks, and increasing poverty have added fuel to a fire that the world was already struggling to put out.”
Girls who marry as children, according to the study, are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to stay in school. They face an increased risk of early and unplanned pregnancies, as well as maternal complications and mortality.
Isolation from family and friends can affect your mental health.
Meanwhile, pandemic-related travel restrictions and physical distancing have made it difficult for girls to “access health care, social services and community support that protect them from child marriage, unwanted pregnancies and gender-based violence. “, while increasing the chances of dropping out of school.
Additionally, families facing financial difficulties may try to marry off their daughters to ease financial burdens.
The report estimates that 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, about half of them in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India or Nigeria.
Fore called on countries to reopen schools, implement legal reforms, guarantee access to health and social services while providing measures to protect families.
By doing so, he said, “we can significantly reduce the risk of your childhood being stolen through child marriage.” AFP
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