The Implication of Early Marriage Towards Teenagers

Birth, marriage and death are the standard trio of key events in most people’s lives. But only one, marriage is a matter of choice (Innocenti Digest, 2001). The rights to have a choice were recognized as a principle of law, yet many girls and some boys enter marriage life without any chance of their rights to choose. Childhood and adolescence are usually the greatest years of one’s life. However, the period is cut short when marriage and adult responsibilities come too early as ones practiced early marriage. Early marriage refers to any form of marriage that takes place before a child has reached eighteen. According to Adlakha, Arjun, Mohamed Ayad and Sushil Kumar (1991) early marriage extends a woman’s reproductive span, thereby contributing to large family size, especially in the absence of contraception. Other impacts of early marriage towards teenagers are psychosocial disadvantages, barrier of education and the risk of HIV/AIDS.

One of the effects of early marriage is psychosocial disadvantage towards teenagers. The loss of adolescence, forced sexual relations and denial of freedom because of early marriage has profound psychosocial and emotional consequences. Most of these young girls are unhappy in an imposed marriage and left in isolation. These child brides have nobody to talk to as they typically forced to leave their family, friends and community and move to their new husband’s home. As married and become mother at young age, they are unable to attend school, have limited time and freedom to leave the home and converse with other, thus lead them to unhappy and isolated life. Indian researchers on child marriage in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh state that girl spouses suffer more than boys: “Inadequate socialization, discontinuation of education, great physiological and emotional damage due to repeated pregnancies devastates these girls” (Innocenti Digest, 2001).

Early marriage has also lead to barrier of education. UNFPA (1990) indicates that on