More than 100 Government and civil society representatives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, alongside experts and young people, called for renewed efforts to end child marriage.
Participants at a regional forum held in Kathmandu, Nepal, from Monday (17) to Wednesday (19), reviewed the implementation of the Regional Action Plan to End Child Marriage, first adopted in 2014 by the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), and noted the need to accelerate progress.
According to the latest estimates by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), South Asia is home to 290 million child brides, the highest number in the world, accounting for 45% of the global total. Despite remarkable headway in reducing child marriage in recent decades, progress remains slow and has been further hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic, economic shocks and conflicts.
“Despite commendable progress, much more needs to be done to end child marriage. The fact that South Asia has the highest child marriage burden in the world is nothing short of tragic,” said the UNICEF’s Regional Director for South Asia Noala Skinner. “Child marriage locks girls out of learning, puts their health and well-being at risk, and compromises their future. Every girl who gets married as a child is one girl too many.”
“Child marriage remains widespread in many countries, with harmful consequences on girls and the entire society,” said the UN Population Fund’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Björn Andersson. “We must do more and strengthen partnerships to empower girls through education, including comprehensive sexuality education, and equipping them with skills, while supporting communities to come together to end this deeply rooted practice.”
Participants at the forum highlighted promising solutions in reducing the practice, including working with religious leaders to positively change how girls are valued by families and communities, and using cash transfers to counter poverty and build resilience to shocks.
“Eliminating child, early and forced marriages requires long-term and well-resourced efforts,” said the Regional Research and Evidence Lead of the Plan International Asia-Pacific Regional Hub Amina Mahbub. “In order to accelerate momentum towards our goal of ending child marriage, the measurement of outcome and impact indicators at regular intervals is essential.”
At the regional forum, young people from the eight countries submitted a joint statement calling on Governments to take stronger action.
At the forum, participants identified key actions to accelerate to achieve the targets of the Regional Action Plan to End Child Marriage. The participants called for: countering poverty by enacting comprehensive social protection measures, with a focus on the poorest, most disadvantaged households; safeguarding every child’s right to attend and complete primary and secondary education; ensuring adequate protective legal and policy frameworks that protect children against child marriage; accelerating action to address social norms and promote positive behaviours among families, with a focus on men and boys; and guaranteeing the funding and availability of key health and social services for girls.
"The Regional Action Plan to End Child Marriage in South Asia, which is entering its third phase in 2023, is a clear indicator of the political and institutional commitment by Governments and non-Governmental agencies of South Asia to end child marriage,” said the Director General of the SAIEVAC Regional Secretariat Dr. Rinchen Chopal. “Much progress has been achieved but the battle must and will continue with reinforced and demonstrated commitment."
“Child protection is a priority for us,” said the Regional Leader of the South Asia and Pacific Region of the World Vision International Cherian Thomas. “We cannot hope to make any progress as a community towards ending child marriage unless all partners commit to not just work towards ending it, but to ending it together.”