Abstract
BackgroundEarly marriage (< 18 years) is associated with education cessation among girls. Little research has qualitatively assessed how girls build resiliency in affected contexts. This study examines these issues in Oromia, Ethiopia and Jharkhand, India among girls and their decision-makers exposed to early marriage prevention programs.MethodsQualitative interviews were conducted with girls who received the intervention programs and subsequently either a) married prior to age 18 or b) cancelled/postponed their proposed early marriage. Girls also selected up to three marital decision-makers for inclusion in the study. Participants (N = 207) were asked about the value and enablers of, and barriers to, girls’ education and the interplay of these themes with marriage, as part of a larger in-depth interview on early marriage. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using latent content analysis.ResultsParticipants recognized the benefits of girls’ education, including increased self-efficacy and life skills for girls and opportunity for economic development. A girl’s capacity and desire for education, as well as her self-efficacy to demand it, were key psychological assets supporting school retention. Social support from parents and teachers was also important, as was social support from in-laws and husbands to continue school subsequent to marriage. Post-marriage education was nonetheless viewed as difficult, particularly subsequent to childbirth. Other noted barriers to girls’ education included social norms against girls’ education and for early marriage, financial barriers, and poor value of education.ConclusionSocial norms of early marriage, financial burden of school fees, and minimal opportunity for girls beyond marriage affect girls’ education. Nonetheless, some girls manifest psychological resiliency in these settings and, with support from parents and teachers, are able to stay in school and delay marriage. Unfortunately, girls less academically inclined, and those who do marry early, are less supported by family and existing programs to remain in school; programmatic efforts should be expanded to include educational support for married and childbearing girls as well as options for women and girls beyond marriage.
Highlights
Marriage (< 18 years) is associated with education cessation among girls
The present study builds on previous quantitative work documenting the importance of education retention to prevent early marriage [20, 22, 40] by qualitatively exploring the beliefs, norms, and practices of girls’ education and their relation to early marriage, as described by girls exposed to early marriage prevention efforts in rural Ethiopia and India, as well as these girls’ marital decision-makers
The current study provides a unique lens into the value, barriers and enablers of education of girls in contexts with a high prevalence of early marriage, providing important insights for program and policy improvements. Findings from this qualitative study of girls who participated in early marriage prevention programs and their marital decision-makers in the context of Oromia, Ethiopa and Jharkhand, India, regions with high rates of early marriage of girls, demonstrate recognition of the value of girls’ education and subsequent delayed marriage in terms of improved opportunity to build life skills, stronger domestic capacities to manage a household and care for children, and greater capacities to manage household finances or pursue career opportunities
Summary
Marriage (< 18 years) is associated with education cessation among girls. Little research has qualitatively assessed how girls build resiliency in affected contexts. This study examines these issues in Oromia, Ethiopia and Jharkhand, India among girls and their decision-makers exposed to early marriage prevention programs. Marriage, defined as marriage before the age of 18, is a pervasive health and human rights issue that disproportionately affects women and girls [1]. Marriage compromises girls’ ability to attend school post-marriage, exposing them to an array of adverse social and health outcomes associated with education cessation [10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. While this progress is commendable, the rate of progress is inadequate when more than one in four girls in India and two in five girls in Ethiopia may be subject to this harmful practice and its deleterious social and health effects
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