Female Early Marriage in South Asia under the Threat of Global Climate Change

Francesca Tosi, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna
Livia Elisa Ortensi , Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
Rosella Rettaroli, Università di Bologna

Marrying as a child is a fundamental violation of human rights and has serious consequences for young girls’ lives. Despite having declined in the last decades, early marriage is still pervasive globally, especially in South Asia. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly clear that climate change affects the timing and patterns of life course transitions, including the transition into unions of girls under 18. This study focuses on the Southern Asian region, where both extreme weather and child marriage prevalence are among the highest worldwide. We estimate the relationship between the two phenomena by applying multilevel survival modelling to integrated data based on the Demographic and Health Survey for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and the climatic information by the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index. Our findings bear important implications for studies on family formation dynamics and women’s rights under the threat of global climate change.

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 Presented in Session P11. Climate Change Impacts in the Global South