Perceptions of minimum age at marriage laws and their enforcement: qualitative evidence from Malawi.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Child marriage in Malawi is a significant problem with 42.1% of women 20-24 married by age 18. In 2017 the Malawi government formalized legislation to make marriage under age 18 illegal; violators are subject to fines. While leveraging laws to reduce child marriage is common, the enactment of laws and their enforcement has led to some novel practices. One such practice observed in Malawi is marriage withdrawal, where the community intervenes when a child marriage has taken place to force the girl to return to her natal home.

Methods

This paper is a qualitative analysis of perceptions regarding marriage withdrawal. We conducted focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with married and unmarried adolescents, parents of adolescents, and key community members i

SUBMITTER: Melnikas AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8268505 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature