An Islamic Perspective on the Ramifications of Early Marriage

This essay discusses the diverse consequences of early marriages, particularly from an Islamic viewpoint. It highlights both the negative impacts, such as limited education, increased health risks (HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality), poverty, and potential for abuse, and some perceived positive aspects like increased opportunity for success and longer duration of sexual activity within marriage. The essay emphasizes that early marriages, despite any potential benefits, often lead to significant disadvantages, especially for girls, including curtailed educational opportunities and heightened health risks. It also touches upon the religious permissibility of early marriage in some interpretations of Islam while acknowledging the widespread negative social and health outcomes. The paper references various sources to support its claims, providing a comprehensive overview of the topic. Desklib offers this document along with numerous other resources to aid students in their studies.

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Different Consequences of Early Marriages
Child marriage can be explained as marriage which takes place before a girl or a boy
reaches the age of 18 years. In some communities, young girls as young as 7 and 8 years are
forced by their families to marry old men. The reason for early marriages is diverse, some
parents believe through early marriages they are protecting their daughters and also in some
times increasing their economic opportunities (Ali). However this early marriages increases the
health problems to the girls and human right violence. Also, early marriages denies the involved
girls to access to social network, perpetuates a cycle of poverty, support system and gender
inequality. Different religion allows marriage between woman and men. However, some
countries such as the United State of American allow the marriages between two people of the
same sex while others such Uganda in Africa the marriage between same sexes is a constitutional
crime. Also in different religious the right age for marriage is 18 years and above (DeLong-Bas).
For instance, Christianity considers one as mature enough for marriage at the age of 18 years.
However, Islam religious allows early marriage for its followers. Generally, early marriage has
some positive and negative consequences to the involved individuals.
The proven fact about early marriage

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I. The research from UN reveals that 37000 at the age of fewer than 18 years are married
each day. Those are teenagers who are forced or volunteered to be married even at the
age of under than 18 years. Currently, we have the highest number of underage marriage
than it was before (Arland Thornton).
II. In the developing countries such as Kenya in Africa 1 in every 3 girls are married at the
age below 18 years old. The same statistics shows that 1 in every 9 girls forced for
married at the age below 15 years old.
III. The same estimates that, if the trends continue in the next decade more than 140 million
girls across the world will be married before the age of 18 years.
IV. In the whole world, almost four hundred million women who are now aged 20-49 on their
time were married at the age of eighteen years or below. The same were either forced into
marriage or the volunteered though at tender age. The fact they were young, it shows that
they were not on their right mind and they could not have made such decision.
V. Marrying at an early age increases the chances of a girl to exposure to many health risks.
Some of the abuse includes violence and abuse, female genital mutilation, child
malnutrition and ill mental health.
Form the Islam point of view some of the positive and negative factors from early
marriages include
Negative consequence of early marriages
Early marriages have some negative effects to the involved person, either sex male or
female. Some of the factors are
Lack of ability to write and read

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Early marriages in Islam results to inability to read and write to the affected individuals,
this is because instead of going to schools where they are taught how to read and write young
kids are forced to early marriages. Early marriages deny young people to attend formal education
which is required for once growths. Take for instance, a kid aged 12 years who is forced to get
marriage while at class 6 instead of continuing with her or his education. After marriage, that kid
can’t be compared with his age mate who continues with education up to college schools and
later graduates. The educated one will be able to write and read anything and anytime he is
required to do so. Ability to read and write in the society is as crucial as it enables one to
interpolate the life without many problems in the long run. A person who hasn’t acquired formal
education also finds it to interact with other peoples in the society (Juel).
Increased chances of HIV and AIDS and other STDs
Early marriages leads to inability to get formal education which teaches the causes, the
effect and the challenges associated with HIV and AIDs among other sexual transmitted
diseases. Uneducated individuals have higher chances of practicing unsafe sex which increases
the chances of contracting HIV and AIDs. This does not mean the educated people do not get the
disease, but the chances of uneducated individual contracting the disease are higher than the
educated person. The reason why educated ones has lower chances is because, they are taught
the effect of the disease, the causes and how to abstain or using protections which makes one not
to be affected with the disease. Another factor which increases the chances of contracting the
disease is immorality. According to the research which was conducted by world health
organization, young people have higher chances of contracting the disease compared to old
people. This is because old people take the laid down precaution compared to youths who does
not (Stillwaggon).

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Increased chances of poverty
There is direct relationship between formal education and richness. According to the
research, majority of rich people in the society are learned fellows which means that denying
young people the chance to read and write increases their chances of being poor. Also, when
young people gets married at younger age, their minds are not fully grown to make concrete
decision which means they won’t have the chance of making money. Due to their tender age and
lack of formal education, the young families spend their money on unnecessary thing thus they
end up not saving any money at the long last. In many cases, young people as young as 18 years
of age depend on their parents for upkeep. This means subjecting those kids to marriage will
increase their poverty line as at the time of marriage they have been depending on their parents
for survival. Some researchers have argued that they ability to survive in also so minimal
compared to those who have married at older age (Tzemach and Lemmon).
Increases Maternal Mortality and Infant Mortality Rates
Maternal mortality is the death of women while pregnant. The death can be caused by
different factors in the long run. However, complication during pregnancy is leading cause of
maternal mortality rate. Infant mortality is the death of child mostly those of less than one year of
age. From the statistics from world health organization, early marriage increases both maternal
and infant mortality rate. In maternal mortality, the number increases because the involved
person is still young and her birth is yet developed to give birth, in most cases those kids delivers
through cesarean section because the kid cannot give birth through vagina. The number of
maternal mortality rate among young people is higher than old people according to the world
health organization. On the other hand, still the infant mortality rate among young families is
higher than old families. Factors which contribute this are many, for instance, young families

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lack the capital to take their kids to the best hospital in case they fell sick. Other factors are,
young families lacks the experience to take care of their families and in some cases they ends up
leaving their kids to sleep without covering properly thus ends up suffering from pneumonia
which mostly kill young kids. Also, those families lack the best materials to cover their kids
against cold season (Joseph, Naǧmābādī and al) .
Lack of the ability to plan and also manage the family
Families should plan how many children they are planning to have in the long run. Also,
the coups must make sure they are able to manage their families to avoid any danger happening
to them. In the society plenty of ways to plan how many children one must have exist. Planning
the number of children one must have helps in providing the best care, taking them to the best
school and also providing all the basic needs to the kids. Managing also involves making sure the
parents are able take care of their children and making sure they progress according to their
plans. Managing the families helps in minimizing cases where young children can engage
themselves in criminal activities such as smoking marijuana, raping cases and other crime
activities. Young families do not only fail in family planning but also they fail in managing how
many kids they will have and providing them with the best care in the environment (Seth).
Increased chances of next generation of child wives
As we have discussed earlier, early marriages leads to uneducated families meaning there
is increased chances of them failing to their children also to school. The cycles repeat it, as they
would not even have any problem not taking their children to school also. The wife will end up
been a house wife while their girl kid will also end up being a house wife. There are minimal
chances that their daughters will secure a decent job and ends up not being a house wife on her

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family. The only way to break this cycle is by discouraging early marriages as well as formal
education to the affected kids (Gayle Tzemach Lemmon).
Increased chances of physical and sexual abuse
Majority of families goes through ups and down of which one must face them. Young
marriages experiences physical and sexual abuse more often compared to other families. This is
because young people’s lacks the knowledge to face their differences in a harmony ways. From
the research which was released 2016 by world health organization, young families experiences
increased chances of sexual abuse compared to old people. Another proof which shows young
families has both physical and sexual abuse is in the courts majority of cases are reported by the
young families. To prevent this young people should be educated to solve their differences in a
polite and good manner. In the modern world sexual abuse, physical abuse and early marriages
must be condemned at all means possible.
Positive consequences of early marriages
Even though early marriages are regarded to be bad for either a boy or a girl everything
in this planet has its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the above points opposes early
marriages in the society although the act has some advantages to the both the society and the
involved individuals. The below points will discuss in details some of the advantages associated
with early marriages.
Increased chances of becoming successful
Early marriages provide an opportunity to the families to start working together and
tirelessly in order to provide their families. This chance increases their chances of becoming

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successful in the society. For instance, assume families which come together at the age of 16
years and started working together and saving for the family. It means that they have a higher
chances of becoming successful compared to another family which married each other at the age
of 30 years of age. Even if this does not guarantee one will be rich but he had a higher chance
compared to other people in the society (Gisela Trommsdorff).
Enjoys sex for many years
People who marries or get married at younger age enjoys sex for many years compared to
those who marries or get married at older age. For instance, a person who marries at the age of
15 years will enjoy sex for more than 30 years assuming there will be no sex after 45 years. On
the other hand a person who gets married at 30 years will only enjoy sex for 15 years. The above
scenario assumes the sex is only between husband and wife and there is sex outside the marriage
(Barbach).
Gives more time for couples to pursue their career
Giving birth at 16 years will mean the women will take care of child then she will pursue
her career. Having kids at younger age means that she will take care of the kids and concentrate
on other careers later, unlike when have kids at old age and is forced to forego all her career
ambition to take care of kids at the house. Sometimes taking care of kids can be so tiresome than
one cannot attend the career at any time (Alboher, One person/multiple careers : the original
guide to the slash/career).
Choose your partner freely

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The practice enables people to choose their partner freely and take a lot time. At younger
age there is a lot of time to choose the partner one wants. Unlike at old age where there s no time
and one takes the one comes in the way. When one gets past 30 years the pressure to marry from
the society, friends and the family is too much that a person ends up marrying the wrong person.
This does not happen in case one marries at young age.
Conclusion
Lastly, as we have discussed above it is evident that early marriage among Islam
religious has both positive and negative impacts to the involved person. So long as the family
was not forced to marry they should be left to make their choices. However, education
concerning the early marriages is supposed to be given to Islam believers so that one can
understand the consequences attributed to early marriage before making the important decision.
This is because majority of those who does this, they do it not because their now the
consequences but simply to copy their friends. Marriages are a sacred place which involves a lot
of vows which must not be broken no matter what.
References

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Barbach, Lonnie Garfield. The pause : positive approaches to perimenopause and menopause.
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