South Asian countries have the highest rates of child marriage; Photo: File
New York: According to the report of the United Nations agency UNICEF, the rate of early marriage of girls in South Asia is the highest in the world.
According to the report of the United Nations agency UNICEF, the number of young married girls in South Asia is 290 million, which is 45% of the world.
UNICEF representatives discussed the growing trend of early marriage of girls to their parents in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Increased financial pressure and school closures during the Corona epidemic forced parents to marry off their young daughters early.
Director UNICEF South Asia lamented the situation and said that early marriage endangers the health and well-being of girls.
He further said that unfortunately early marriage stops the education of girls who have to nurture a generation.
It was found that many parents saw marriage as the best option for daughters who had limited options to pursue education during the COVID lockdown.
It should be noted that the legal age of marriage for girls is 16 (except Sindh) in South Asian countries Afghanistan and Pakistan, 18 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and 20 in Nepal.
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