Women's Marriage Age Matters for Public Health: A Review of the Broader Health and Social Implications in South Asia

Frontiers in Public Health
Akanksha A MarphatiaAlice M Reid

Abstract

In many traditional societies, women's age at marriage acts simultaneously as a gateway to new family roles and the likelihood of producing offspring. However, inadequate attention has previously been given to the broader health and social implications of variability in women's marriage age for public health. Biomedical scientists have primarily been concerned with whether the onset of reproduction occurs before the woman is adequately able to nurture her offspring and maintain her own health. Social scientists have argued that early marriage prevents women from attaining their rightful education, accessing employment and training opportunities, developing social relationships with peers, and participating in civic life. The aim of this review article is to provide comprehensive research evidence on why women's marriage age, independent of age at first childbirth, is a crucial issue for public health. It focuses on data from four South Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, in which marriage is near universal and where a large proportion of women still marry below the United Nations prescribed minimum marriage age of 18 years. Using an integrative perspective, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the physio...Continue Reading

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Apr 15, 2020·Culture, Health & Sexuality·Annah Vimbai Bengesai, Hafiz T A Khan
Aug 17, 2019·Frontiers in Public Health·Jonathan C K WellsAna Maria B Menezes
Jan 30, 2020·Frontiers in Public Health·Akanksha A MarphatiaAlice M Reid
Oct 4, 2019·The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research·Hussein H KhachfeRoula El-Najjar
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