Extreme weather drives surge in Pakistan child marriages

Saima (name changed) was just 15 when she was married off last summer to a man twice her age in Dadu district, in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan.

The wedding took place shortly ahead of the monsoon season, which brings with it torrential rain and floods.

The family was worried that there could be a repeat of the situation in 2022, when massive rains and unprecedented floods plunged a third of the country under water, displacing millions and ruining harvests.

Saima's family was also displaced by the climate calamity and her father, agricultural worker Allah Bukhsh, lost his livelihood.

Unable to feed the family, Bukhsh decided to marry Saima off in exchange for 200,000 Pakistani rupees (€650/$720).

"We made the decision to avoid the monsoon rain and suffering in the camps. It is not an easy thing to do," Bukhsh told DW.

Saima said she was initially "happy to be married but things are not as easy as I had expected."

The now 16-year-old gave birth to a child this year. "My responsibilities have doubled now."

Marriages of survival

Child marriages are rife in various regions of the Islamic nation.

According to government data published in December, Pakistan is home to the sixth-highest number of girls married before the age of 18 in the world.

The legal age for marriage varies from 16 to 18 in different regions, but the law is rarely enforced.

Rights groups have said extreme weather events are increasingly putting girls at risk.

"There are 45 cases of child marriages registered in Dadu in the last one year and I believe there could be dozens more that are not registered," Niaz Ahmed Chandio, coordinator of local NGO the Child Rights Committee, told DW. 

Activists said in these cases marriage is often about survival, with families desperate to find any means to get by.

Mashooque Birhmani, the founder of the NGO Sujag Sansar, which works with religious scholars to combat child marriage, said poverty and displacement force families to give their daughters away in marriage in exchange for money.

"These are marriages of survival prompted by the monsoon season and the reason behind marrying off a girl is to reduce the feeding costs at home during the climate calamity," said Sansar.

Osama Malik, an attorney, shares a similar view.

"The floods of recent years have been extremely devastating, leading to the destruction of crops and livestock, and poor farmers have been forced to marry off their daughters as soon as they reach puberty," said Malik.

Extreme weather brings 'increased risk of child marriage'

The United Nations Children's Fund,UNICEF, said Pakistan had made "significant strides" in reducing child marriage over the past two decades.

However, the country has suffered significantly from the impacts of climate change, it noted, citing as an example the intense flooding in 2022. 

"Evidence shows that extreme weather events like this are correlated with an increased risk of child marriage," UNICEF said in a report after the floods.

"In a year with an event of this severity, we would expect to see an 18% increase in the prevalence of child marriage, equivalent to erasing five years of progress."

The Sindh government, however, has denied reports that climate-driven economic insecurity was causing child marriages in the province.

"There are no underage marriages taking place in Dadu, and girls getting married are adults, not child brides," Hidayat Ali Shah, deputy director of the Child Protection Authority in Dadu district, told DW. 

Call for raising awareness

Pakistan's patriarchal society has only compounded the problem.

"Girls are seen as a burden in the larger families, and someone to be offloaded soon," said Afia Salam, a journalist focused on environmental and gender issues.  

"This patriarchal thinking must be addressed through awareness," she stressed.

Child marriages often lead to girls facing early motherhood and lifelong reproductive health issues. They are also left with no education and employment prospects, making them vulnerable and entirely dependent on their families for survival.

Chandio, of the Child Rights Committee, said parents and local communities must be educated about the dangers of child marriage and its impact on the lives of young girls.

"Strengthening and enforcing laws and social security measures from the government and aid groups are key to tackling the issue among the vulnerable communities."

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru