Baseline Assessment: Grassroots Action to End Child, Early and Forced Marriage
This baseline assessment examines the drivers and impacts of child, early, and forced marriage and recommends a comprehensive grassroots response.
Poverty, lack of education, and gender inequality are among the key drivers of early and forced marriages in Pakistan, particularly in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
According to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017–2018, approximately 21% of girls in Pakistan are married before the age of 18, with higher prevalence rates observed in rural areas and among poorer households. In some districts in Sindh, the prevalence of child marriages is alarmingly high, with reports indicating that nearly 72% of girls are married before the age of 18.
This baseline assessment examines the drivers and impacts of child, early, and forced marriage and recommends a comprehensive grassroots response.
Early and forced marriages are also prevalent in Southeast Asia.
