Child marriage is one of the issues that deprive many young girls of their basic rights and lives. The present study aimed to explore Iranian child brides’ experiences of the consequences of early marriage. The participants were women living in Tehran who had married at the age of 14–18 years. The analysis of the participants’ experiences revealed four main themes, including ‘underlying causes of early marriages’, ‘concerns and negative feelings’, ‘exposure to violence’, and ‘consequences of early marriages’. Awareness of these challenges can provide useful insights to be used by social workers and policymakers to further support these women.
AzimiK (2020) The trend of girl child marriage in Iran based on national census data. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters28(1): 1820655.
2.
BüchlerASchlatterC (2013) The marriage age in Islamic and contemporary Muslim family laws: A comparative survey. Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL)1(2): 37–74.
3.
Chandra-MouliVGreifingerRNwosuA, et al. (2013) Invest in adolescents and young people: It pays. Reproductive Health10(1): 1–5.
4.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (2021) Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/pages/cedawindex.aspx (accessed 23 July 2021).
5.
de GrootRKuunyemMYPalermoT (2018) Child marriage and associated outcomes in northern Ghana: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health18(1): 1–12.
6.
DeJongJJawadRMortagyI, et al. (2005) The sexual and reproductive health of young people in the Arab countries and Iran. Reproductive Health Matters13(25): 49–59.
7.
GageAJ (2013) Association of child marriage with suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescent girls in Ethiopia. Journal of Adolescent Health52(5): 654–656.
8.
GubaEGLincolnYS (1994) Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In: DenzinNKLincolnYS (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 163–194.
9.
HutchinsonAJO’LearyPSquireJ, et al. (2015) Child protection in Islamic contexts: Identifying cultural and religious appropriate mechanisms and processes using a roundtable methodology. Child Abuse Review24(6): 395–408.
10.
JohnNAEdmeadesJMurithiL (2019) Child marriage and psychological well-being in Niger and Ethiopia. BMC Public Health19(1): 1–12.
11.
KakavandBKhodabakhshi-KoolaeeA (2021) Women’s lived experiences of cohabitation: A phenomenological study. Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences10(2): 75–82.
12.
Khodabakhshi-KoolaeeA (2020) Comparison of psychological hardiness and resiliency of employed and unemployed female-headed households. Journal of Client-centered Nursing Care6(1): 7–12.
13.
Khodabakhshi-KoolaeeABagherianMRahmatizadehM (2018) Stress and coping strategies in women with and without intimate-partner violence experiences. Journal of Client-centered Nursing Care4(1): 29–36.
14.
KhouryJWehbiS (2016) Leaving a violent domestic relationship: Experiences of women in Lebanon. International Social Work59(1): 73–85.
15.
KidmanR (2017) Child marriage and intimate partner violence: A comparative study of 34 countries. International Journal of Epidemiology46(2): 662–675.
16.
KohnoATechasrivichienTSuguimotoSP, et al. (2020) Investigation of the key factors that influence the girls to enter into child marriage: A meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence. PLoS ONE15(7): e0235959.
17.
KoskiAHeymannJ (2018) Child marriage in the United States: How common is the practice, and which children are at greatest risk?Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health50(2): 59–65.
18.
KoskiAClarkSNandiA (2017) Has child marriage declined in sub-Saharan Africa? An analysis of trends in 31 countries. Population and Development Review43: 7–29.
19.
Lacey KrimK (2010) When is it enough for me to leave? Black and Hispanic women’s response to violent relationships. Journal of Family Violence25(7): 669–677.
20.
LebniJYSolhiMAzarFEF, et al. (2020) A qualitative study of social determinants of child marriage in Kurdish regions of Iran: Evidence for health promotion interventions. Journal of Education and Health Promotion9: 242.
21.
LoaizaEWongS (2012) Marrying Too Young: End Child Marriage. New York: United Nations Population Fund.
22.
MatlabiHRasouliABehtashHH, et al. (2013) Factors responsible for early and forced marriage in Iran. Science Journal of Public Health1(5): 227–229.
23.
MenschBSSoler-HampejsekEKellyCA, et al. (2014) Challenges in measuring the sequencing of life events among adolescents in Malawi: A cautionary note. Demography51(1): 277–285.
24.
MirzaeeZMaarefvandMMousaviMT, et al. (2021) Stakeholders’ perspectives on girls’ early marriage in Maneh and Samalqan, Iran. Children and Youth Services Review122: 105900.
25.
NanfukaETuryomurugyendoFOchenE, et al. (2020) Leaving a violent child marriage: Experiences of adult survivors in Uganda. Social Sciences9(10): 172.
26.
O’LearyPAbdallaMHutchinsonA, et al. (2020) Child protection with Muslim communities: Considerations for non-Muslim-based orthodoxies/paradigms in child welfare and social work. The British Journal of Social Work50(4): 1201–1218.
27.
OrojlooSKhodabakhshi KoolaeeA (2016) Comparison between personality traits and hope among female-headed households with or without a tendency towards remarriage. Community Health (Salāmat-i Ijtimāī)3(2): 101–110.
28.
PattonGCCoffeyCSawyerSM, et al. (2009) Global patterns of mortality in young people: A systematic analysis of population health data. The Lancet374(9693): 881–892.
29.
RajASaggurtiNBalaiahD, et al. (2009) Prevalence of child marriage and its effect on fertility and fertility-control outcomes of young women in India: A cross-sectional, observational study. The Lancet373(9678): 1883–1889.
30.
SanthyaKGJejeebhoySJ (2015) Sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls: Evidence from low - and middle-income countries. Global Public Health10(2): 189–221.
31.
ShoshaGA (2012) Employment of Colaizzi’s strategy in descriptive phenomenology: A reflection of a researcher. European Scientific Journal8: 27.
32.
United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (2019) Child marriage threatens the lives, well-being, and futures of girls around the world. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/protection/child-marriage (accessed 1 August 2019).
United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (2012) Marrying Too Young: End Child Marriage. New York: United Nations Population Fund.
35.
United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (2020) Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-Based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage. New York: UNFPA.
36.
WahiAZaleskiKLLampeJ, et al. (2019) The lived experience of child marriage in the United States. Social Work in Public Health34(3): 201–213.
37.
WillanSNtiniNGibbsA, et al. (2019) Exploring young women’s constructions of love and strategies to navigate violent relationships in South African informal settlements. Culture, Health & Sexuality21(11): 1225–1239.
38.
WismayantiYFO’LearyPTilburyC, et al. (2019) Child sexual abuse in Indonesia: A systematic review of literature, law and policy. Child Abuse & Neglect95: 104034.
39.
WismayantiYFO’LearyPTilburyC, et al. (2021) The problematization of child sexual abuse in policy and law: The Indonesian example. Child Abuse & Neglect118: 105157.
40.
WodonQMaléCOnagoruwaA (2020) A simple approach to measuring the share of early childbirths likely due to child marriage in developing countries. Forum for Social Economics49(2): 166–171.
YayaSOdusinaEKBishwajitG (2019) Prevalence of child marriage and its impact on fertility outcomes in 34 sub-Saharan African countries. BMC International Health and Human Rights19(1): 1–11.
44.
YountKMCrandallACheongYF, et al. (2016) Child marriage and intimate partner violence in rural Bangladesh: A longitudinal multilevel analysis. Demography53(6): 1821–1852.
