The Impact of Poverty and Education on Female Child Marriage in Afghanistan Evidence from 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey

Year 2021, , 418 - 431, 30.06.2021

Hamayon Ehsan , Noorulhaq Ghafoori , Sayed Osman Akrami

https://doi.org/10.52835/19maysbd.897102

Abstract

Female children as a vulnerable part of Afghan society extremely influencing by the lack of education facilities and poverty. Child marriage as a human right violation, destroying the child’s future and affecting the health of society. Despite; implementation of several programs in the level of nation and international to decrease the female child marriage, still Afghanistan has the highest female child marriage in the region. In this research, the data from 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (2015AfDHS) has extracted to gauge the impact of poverty and education on female child marriage in Afghanistan. To examine the effect of poverty and education on female child marriage binary logistic regression was applied. The result shows, poverty and education strongly influencing the female child marriage. Girls who live in poor households 1.18 times more likely to marry and who ever not attended to school 1.16 times more likely to marry in the age of 10-19 years. Similarly; female child illiteracy, living in rural area, ethnicity and region also significantly increasing the female child marriage in Afghanistan. In conclusion, poverty is directly affecting the household status and increasing the female child marriage in Afghanistan. By creating the job opportunities to job seekers, improving the households condition and providing the equal accessible qualified education facilities to all female children the probability of female child marriage significantly will decrease.

Keywords

education, poverty, female child marriage

Yoksulluk ve Eğitimin Afganistan'da Kadın Çocuk Evliliği Üzerindeki Etkisi 2015 Afganistan Nüfus ve Sağlık Araştırmasından Elde Edilen Kanıtlar

Abstract

Female children as a vulnerable part of Afghan society extremely influencing by the lack of education facilities and poverty. Child marriage as a human right violation, destroying the child’s future and affecting the health of society. Despite; implementation of several programs in the level of nation and international to decrease the female child marriage, still Afghanistan has the highest female child marriage in the region. In this research, the data from 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (2015AfDHS) has extracted to gauge the impact of poverty and education on female child marriage in Afghanistan. To examine the effect of poverty and education on female child marriage binary logistic regression was applied. The result shows, poverty and education strongly influencing the female child marriage. Girls who live in poor households 1.18 times more likely to marry and who ever not attended to school 1.16 times more likely to marry in the age of 10-19 years. Similarly; female child illiteracy, living in rural area, ethnicity and region also significantly increasing the female child marriage in Afghanistan. In conclusion, poverty is directly affecting the household status and increasing the female child marriage in Afghanistan. By creating the job opportunities to job seekers, improving the households condition and providing the equal accessible qualified education facilities to all female children the probability of female child marriage significantly will decrease.

Keywords

education, poverty, female child marriage

References

• Adam Thomas , Isabel Sawhill. (2002). For richer or for poorer: Marriage as an antipoverty strategy. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(4), 587-599. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.10075
• Babatunde Ahonsi, Kamil Fuseini , Dela Nai2, Erika Goldson, Selina Owusu, Ismail Ndifuna, Icilda Humes, Placide L. Tapsoba. (2019). Child marriage in Ghana: evidence from a multi-method study. BMC Women's Health, 19(126), 1-15. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-019-0823-1
• Children Protection Law: Afghanistan. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/media/3931/file/Law%20on%20Protection%20of%20Child%20Rights%20Dari%20and%20Pashto.pdf%20.pdf
• CIA. (2018). The World Factbook:Afghanistan. Retrieved 12 19, 2019, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html
• CRS. (2019). Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy. washington DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45818
• CSO, MoPH, DHS. (2017). AFGHANISTAN DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY 2015. Retrieved 12 15, 2019, from file:///C:/Users/DELL/Desktop/Mortality%20rate/mortality/female%20marriage/DHS%20final%20Report%20Afhanitan.pdf
• Gordon Anderson , Teng Wah Leo. (2009). CHILDREN IN URBAN CHINA AFTER THE ONE CHILD POLICY. The Review on Income and Wealth, 55(s1), 607-629. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4991.2009.00333.x
• Kaydani, M. (2016). Raising Awareness for Gender Equality in Hindu Marriage. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(6), 51-55. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.26417/ejms.v3i1.p50-54
• Lesner, R. V. (2018). The long-term effect of childhood poverty. J Popul Econ, 31, 969-1004. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-017-0674-8
• Linda J. Waite , Evelyn L. Lehrer. (2004). The Benefits from Marriage and Religion in the United States: A Comparative Analysis. Population and Development Review, 29(2), 255-275. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2003.00255.x
• Minh Cong Nguyen, Quentin Wodon. (2012). Measuring Child Marriage. Economics Bulletin, 32(1), 398-411. Retrieved 12 22, 2019, from http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2012/Volume32/EB-12-V32-I1-P36.pdf
• Nour, N. M. (2006, November). Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa. Emerg Infect Dis, 12(11), 1644-1649. doi:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3372345/
• NSIA, UNICEF. (2019). Afghanistan Multidimensional Poverty Index 2016–2017 :Report and Analysis. Retrieved 12 21, 2019, from https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/media/3811/file/AFG_2019_vs9_(online).pdf%20.pdf
• NSIA, UNICEF, OPHI. (2016). Poverty in Afghanistan. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/countries/afghanistan/poverty
• PintuPaul. (2019, May). Effects of education and poverty on the prevalence of girl child marriage in India: A district–level analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 16-21. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.033
• Rafael Cortez, Jennifer Yarger, Mara Decker, Claire Brindis. (2015). SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENT SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: MARRIAGE. Washington Dc: World Bank: Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice. Retrieved 12 22, 2019, from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/936451468165567019/pdf/935420REVISED00iage0JAN-26-150FINAL.pdf
• Richard de Groot, Maxwell Yiryele Kuunyem, Tia Palermo. (2018, Feb 26). Child marriage and associated outcomes in northern Ghana: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 18(285). doi:doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5166-6
• Shea O.Rutstein. (2008). The DHS Wealth Index: Approaches for Rural and Urban Areas. Demographic and Health Research. Retrieved 12 18, 2019, from https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/WP60/WP60.pdf
• UN. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. New York: United Nation. Retrieved 12 21, 2019, from https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/what-is-the-convention
• UN. (2019). Sustainable Development Goals. New York: United Naion. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
• UNDP. (2018). Human Development Report: Afghanistan. New York: United Nation Development Program. Retrieved from https://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/countryinfo.html
• UNFPA, UNICEF. (2016). Mapping of CHILD MARRIAGE INITIATIVES in South Asia. Retrieved 12 19, 2019, from https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/FINALMapping%20of%20Child%20Marriage%20Initiatives%20in%20South%20Asia%281%29.pdf
• UNICEF. (2016). Summary of a Baseline Study to Estimate the Number of Child Marriages in South Asia 2014-2017. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/1991/file
• USAID. (2011). Adult literacy rate, population 15+ years: Afghanistan. Retrieved from https://idea.usaid.gov/cd/afghanistan/gender
• WORLD BANK. (2019). Country Porfile: Afghanistan. Retrieved 12 20, 2019, from https://data.worldbank.org/country/afghanistan