Politics Thousands of girls are forced into child marriages, especially in Africa

Every 30 seconds, a girl is forced into a child marriage. Girls in Africa are particularly affected, led by the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea. This is shown in the Global Girlhood Report 2024 by Save the Children.

Although girls are now able to determine their lives more freely, grow up more securely and are better educated than previous generations, their rights are still massively violated in many countries, according to the report published on Friday by the international children's rights organization Save the Children, a non-governmental organization (NGO).

Save the Children's analysis shows that around 32 million girls between the ages of ten and 17 live in countries that are classified as "extremely fragile" or "fragile" by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and also have a high rate of forced underage marriages. In extremely fragile states, child marriage is twice as common as in countries with stable state structures.

Consequences for the rest of life

According to the children's rights organization, child marriages have serious consequences for the rest of their lives. Many girls have to drop out of school, which deprives them of the chance of economic independence and freedom of choice.

The girls are exposed to a higher risk of physical and sexualized violence. In addition, there is an increased risk of HIV and more frequent complications during pregnancy and childbirth among very young mothers.

According to the new report, almost 558,000 girls - or one in four - give birth before their 18th birthday in extremely fragile countries. According to Save the Children, many do not have access to good quality antenatal care and obstetric care.