Marrying into Crisis: How Environmental Vulnerability Fuels Child Marriage in Bangladesh.

Md. Irfan Hossain, UNICEF-Bangladesh

Child marriage is a global phenomenon. Even though, this harmful practice declined over the last decade, it still remains common, with nearly one in every five females reported to be married as children. These young married girls suffer several challenges that will have a long-term impact on their well-being. Among these problems include social marginalization (isolating them from their peers and communities), poverty (maintaining economic instability), and limited access to education. Typically, these married girls are much younger than their husbands, resulting in power imbalances within the family structure that limit their autonomy and empowerment. Climate change impacts are becoming more obvious in Bangladesh. The country's low-lying coastal districts near the Bay of Bengal are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, floods, waterlogging, river erosion, salinity, and other issues. These environmental changes negatively impact livelihoods and increasing social vulnerability. While poverty has long been identified as a major cause of child marriage, there is increasing but limited research on the link between climatic vulnerability and child marriage. This study will use various national surveys and geospatial data to investigate how environmental changes influence the occurrence of child marriage, with the goal of producing results at the national and subnational levels.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Population, Environment, and Climate Change, Children, Adolescents, and Youth

See extended abstract.