Each year, around 150 million underaged girls globally are married off. What is less obvious is that in many cases, the grooms are children themselves. This article will evaluate the long-term impact of early marriage on child grooms. However, it does not undermine the movement to end child marriage for girls, who are still disproportionately affected by early marriage.

Real-Life Stories Behind The Numbers

 According to UNICEF, almost 160 million men today were married off as children. The numbers are even worse in places like Kapilvastu, Nepal, a holy city for Buddhists everywhere, where 62% of boys are married off before age 19. In cities like these all over the world, boys can even be married off as young as age 6.

In 2011, Foreign Policy documented this early marriage pandemic in Afghanistan by following a young boy, Ozyr Khul, who was forced to marry against his will before he was old enough to know how to read, write or count. Some like Parshurum Hajiran were slightly luckier, but by age 14, fresh off a failed marriage, was forced to get married again. While the idea of a 14-year-old divorcee might seem like comedy fodder in a sitcom, the reality differs for some who are forced to take on immense responsibilities at a young age.

Long-Term Impacts Of Child Marriage

Child marriage propagates gender roles. These young men drop out of school and take on menial tasks to support their families, while their brides stay at home and care of the children and their husbands. 

Consequentially, child marriage leads to poverty. The writer of the Foreign Policy piece noted remorsefully that if Khul ever had the “chance of breaking out of the grip of poverty that suffocates his village”, his early marriage has robbed him of that chance. For these child grooms, education is cut short and they are made to take up low-paying jobs. This is a major contributor to the fact that nearly half of the country’s population lives on less that $3.2 a day, according to The World Bank.

Another effect of child marriage is that it causes resentment, which in turn leads to increased rates of domestic violence. Hajiran admitted that when he was forced to get married the first time – aged 9 – he “didn’t know what marriage meant”, explaining that he felt that “the dreams and energy you have as a young person go away: you are tormented by the responsibility of having a wife and family.” Many of these young men view women and their families as inhibitors to their success and “tormentors.”

Any End To The Problem In Sight?

While some may argue that the ultimate decision to be violent rests with the man, their being married off at such a young age robs them of emotional mature to the point where they can handle such issues effectively.  Nearly half of all women in Nepal have reportedly been abused and it isn’t a far stretch to assume the culture of early marriage is partly responsible. Worse still are the numbers from Afghanistan where, according to the WHO, 90% of women have experienced domestic violence. Truly saddening!

 In order overcome this problem, we need to see early marriage as a human problem, not just a female problem. Currently, there is little research on the long-term impact of early marriage on boys, according to UNICEF. This must change if we are to save future generations from suffering through the consequences of early child marriage.