UNICEF Says COVID-19 Can Increase The Number Of Girls Undergoing Early Marriage

Illustration. (Unsplash/@monroefiles)

JAKARTA - The United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) said that COVID-19 has the potential to place girls in early marriages.

In fact, UNICEF calls the number dire, reaching 10 million girls who may be forced to marry underage due to COVID-19, in a statement on March 8.

UNICEF also said the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to undo years of progress in fighting the practice of early marriage.

"COVID-19 has made an already difficult situation for millions of girls even worse," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, in a statement issued to mark International Women's Day.

"Closed schools, isolation from friends and support networks, and increasing poverty are adding to this situation," she continued.

Prior to the global health crisis, UNICEF estimated that 100 million girls were at risk of underage marriage this decade, despite significant declines in some countries.

Illustration. (Unsplash / @ tawc20)

Over the previous 10 years, the proportion of young women married as children have decreased by 15 percent, the equivalent of 25 million marriages avoided.

However, the projected 10 percent increase triggered by the pandemic threatens the efforts and successes of reducing early marriage.

UNICEF said girls who married in childhood tend not to continue their schooling, more likely to experience domestic violence.

Child marriage also increases the risk of premature and unplanned pregnancy, and in turn, increases the risk of complications and maternal death. Isolation from friends and family can also have a big impact on a girl's mental health and well-being.

UNICEF stressed that because marriage fundamentally changes a girl's way of life, the full effect of the pandemic on human development will last a generation.

"One year after the pandemic, urgent action is needed to reduce the number of girls and their families," said Fore.

"By reopening schools, implementing effective laws and policies, ensuring access to health and social services, including sexual and reproductive health services, and providing comprehensive social protection measures for families, we can significantly reduce the risk of girls' stolen childhood through child marriage," she explained.

Experts told Euronews last month that the pandemic has also led to an increase in the number of girls being subjected to female genital mutilation.

An estimated 650 million girls and women currently alive were married as children. About half of these marriages took place in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, and Nigeria.