Drivers of Child Marriages among Girls: A Sociological Study in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

Pakistan is the home to nearly 19 million child brides today. Statistics show that 18.7% of women aged 18-22 marry as children in the country. It is argued that social and cultural factors are the leading factors behind girl child marriages in rural settings in Pakistan. This study investigates the social and cultural factors as causes of girl child marriages in district Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan. A cross-sectional research design was applied to conduct a household survey of women respondents aged 15-49 years. The researchers used a questionnaire as data collection tool, and a sample of 384 married women was selected. The researchers took informed consent from all the respondents, and female research assistants were engaged to collect data from women in traditional cultural settings. Descriptive statistics were used to explain the dependent and independent variables, while a Pearson correlation test was applied to draw the correlation of girl child marriage and social factors as drivers of girl early marriage in the study locale. The results explained that girl child marriage is a harmful practice which is socially approved. It is also explained that family elders are the key decision makers of girl child marriage in their family (r = .202, p value 0.001). It is also explained that Pakhtunwali is considered a code of life where girl child marriage is regularised in the social structure of Pakhtun society (r=204, P. value 0.001). The research study recommends a behavioural change programme at the community and school levels to prevent girl child marriage in the country.