MARRIAGES IN THE SHADOW OF CLIMATE VULNERABILITY

Dr. Jaykumar Bhongale

Assistant Professor, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Deemed to be University, New Law College Pune.

Mr. Oishik Bhattacharya

Student of BBA LLB SEM VII, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Deemed to be University, New Law College Pune.

Abstract

Demographic behaviour may alter as a result of how climate-change interacts with social, economic, and political influences. The relationship between environmental stress and marriage hasn’t got much attention. We investigate the connection between the risk of marriage and extreme weather, such as heat waves and dry spells. We discover that girls and women are more likely to get married in the year of or the year after the heat waves. The relationship is highest for women between the ages of 18 and 23, and weakest for those between the ages of 11 and 14. We also investigate the idea that severe weather influences families to accept less suitable daughter marriage proposals. We discover that people who get married in extremely hot weather typically end up with less educated men and poorer families. Similarly to this, men with less education who married during unusually dry years are supportive of partner violence more than other married men married in normal seasons of the year. These findings collectively imply that families who experience environmental shocks adapt by hastening the marriage of daughters or by settling for less ideal marriage offers. Such behaviours highlight the particular vulnerabilities encountered by women as climate change accelerates and are expected to have long-term effects on their health and well-being.

The relationship between dowry, arranged marriages, and climate change in different parts of the world is discussed in this essay. We researchers contend that climatic crises are causing serious economic burdens, thus the families of young men now consider dowry as a way to accumulate wealth. Dowry has grown to be a considerable financial burden for the families of girls, one that rises with the girl’s age. We contend that as a result of the economic difficulties brought on by climatic concerns. Thus, there is an increase in child and forced weddings. We come to the conclusion that, in order to adequately safeguard against climate change, attention should be focussed on how to resist the crisis thus protecting children from getting married due to climate vulnerability.

Keywords: Marriage, Vulnerability, Climate Change, Environment, Health and Well-being

1.              Introduction

Environmental changes have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing, including our sexual and reproductive rights and health. The idea of sustainable development with a human-centered focus is seriously threatened by crises like climate change.¹ Climate change and global warming are occurring at an unprecedented rate. The repercussions of climate change, which might include poverty, relocation, and a lack of education, are particularly dangerous for women and girls. These are all connected to gender inequality and may make it worse.² The unofficial relationship in child

¹ child_marriage_and_environmental_crises_an_evidence_brief_final.pdf https://esaro.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub- pdf/child_marriage_and_environmental_crises_an_evidence_brief_final.pdf (last visited Feb 1, 2023). ² Child Marriage Links to Climate Change | Psychology Today,

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-day-slavery/202212/child-marriage-links-climate-change  (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

marriage consists illegal marriage which counts upto 21% of the female worldwide. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh are some of the nations most impacted by climate change and have some of the loftiest rates of child. In some places, womanish genital mutilation( FGM), which involves the partial or complete junking of womanish external genitalia or other detriment to womanish genital organs fornon-medical reasons, is linked to child marriage. In addition to denying girls their basic rights, child marriage is also linked to increased prevalence of STIs and earlier first pregnancies (with a concomitantly higher risk of maternal and neonatal complications)³ Existing availability of resources and education are made worse by environmental issues such as climate change. Notably, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius will push millions of people into extreme poverty, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where child marriage and FGM are now most prevalent (IPCC, 2014; UNFPA, 2021). Understanding the consequences of environmental crises on child marriage is crucial in an unstable and changing environment, so that human rights can be protected and steps may be taken, to increase resilience to shocks and the effects of climate change.⁴

·                Key Notes:

1. Every year, one in five girls are married before turning 18 in the world. Years of work had caused the practise to wane, but it now faces the possibility of increasing.⁵
2. The causes of child marriage, such as poverty, relocation, violence, and loss of schooling, are multiplied by climate change and other environmental problems, according to research and data.⁶
3. Female genital mutilation, domestic abuse, and other types of violence are all greatly increased by child marriage, endangering children’s physical and emotional health as well as their freedom.⁷
4. In agricultural communities, which are also more prone to face the consequences of climate change, child marriage is a typical occurrence.⁸

2.              The Link between Climate Change and Child Marriage:

Many children worldwide are now more in danger of child marriage as a result of climate change and other environmental challenges. The connections between the two have been established by research and data from international organisations like the UNFPA.

Many of the regions with the highest rates of child marriage are also those with the worst environmental challenges brought on by climate change. Those with less wealth and access to resources frequently engage in the actively which is particularly in rural locations where residents depend on their surroundings for a living.

For some of the families that are impacted, child weddings are a method to reduce pressure or even a chance to acquire money or resources through societal customs like “bride price” payments to the families of girls or “dowry” payments to the families of males. This is especially true for rural

³ child_marriage_and_environmental_crises_an_evidence_brief_final.pdf, supra note 3.

⁴ Id.

⁵ How climate change is driving child marriages | End Violence, END VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN, https://www.end-violence.org/articles/how-climate-change-driving-child-marriages (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

⁶ Id.

⁷ Id.

⁸ Child Marriage Links to Climate Change | Psychology Today, supra note 4.

inhabitants, whose livelihoods depend most heavily on the environment. According to studies⁹, conditions like droughts and flooding are associated with an increase in child marriages.

Families and communities are uprooted as a result of environmental catastrophes and climate change. By 2050, anywhere between 50 and 250 million people might be at very high risk of being displaced due to the effects of climate change, putting more families and children at danger.

Following the environmental catastrophes, conflict often intensifies. Due to these, there are more incidences and threats of violence towards children, which may lead to child marriages in some households. According to research, the likelihood of females being married as children decreases the longer they attend school.

I)               How climate change affects child marriages may be explained by three broad phenomena?

1. The first is the gradual loss of livelihood brought on by climate change’s indirect effects. As a result of the vulnerable population’s dependency on the environment they have to face lot due to climate change – agricultural producers, fishermen, and herders are among the most vulnerable communities on earth. There are fewer fish to be caught due to rising water temperatures. Farming and animal husbandry are almost difficult during droughts and floods. When families struggle financially, child marriage may be the quickest and most practical option to feed one fewer mouth while making money through dowry and bride costs. This relieves pressures on the family and scarce funds. Girls occasionally accept these suggestions without question since they perceive them as ways to make their life better as well.
   1. The second is unforeseen, severe weather events, which can dramatically alter a girl’s destiny leading to total property loss. In 2019, when Cyclones Idai and Kennet struck Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, they resulted in a substantial exodus of climate change refugees which resulted in people to keave their home.¹⁰ Child marriage surged by more than a factor of two as families were relocated to settlement camps. Many families that regarded child marriage as a means out of their difficult conditions had increased living expenses and lower spare income as a result of this abrupt instability.
   1. Protection; protection for the females, but most crucially, protection for the “honour” of the family, is the third related, and perhaps the most controversial, cause. For a variety of factors, including the confusion, interruptions, and lack of shelter that follows a natural catastrophe, the risk of sexual assault is increased. Girls and young women are also more likely to experience sexual harassment and assault in the camps due to the lack of privacy and security in displacement settlements.

Therefore, many parents rationalise their choice to marry off their daughters before they are adults by citing protection from sexual exploitation. In fact, the UN notes that child marriage is a serious violation of human rights since it deprives girls of the ability to make decisions about their lives and bodies which, interferes with their education, and exposes them to higher risks of abuse, violence, and discrimination. In addition, some families have been driven to marry off daughters when they are seen with other men throughout the migration process due to concerns about “honour” or the worry that a daughter will be perceived as profligate. Women and teenage girls are frequently required to manage

⁹ Margaret E Greene, Ending Child Marriage in a Generation.

¹⁰ Dana Kirkegaard, Marriage in the Forecast: The Link between Climate Change and Child Marriage, USA FOR UNFPA (2021), https://www.usaforunfpa.org/marriage-in-the-forecast-the-link-between- climate-change-and-child-marriage/ (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

houses, including purchasing food, water, and wood for cooking, as a result of conventional gender responsibilities for women. These resources become scarce as a result of environmental catastrophes including wildfires, storms, floods, and droughts. Females are more vulnerable to sexual abuse when they must go further from their houses to get everyday essentials like water and firewood.

·                The causes why children are being vulnerable to climate change

Here the researchers studies two continent Africa and Asia and understand the root cause of all the vulnerabilities. The researchers further tries to explain the problem in a simpler way. The lack of educational and economic choices leads to child marriage. Traditions and gender-discriminatory norms are rooted in patriarchal values and ideologies, as well as exacerbating social factors like poverty, economic instability, conflict, and humanitarian crisis are all pointed to as the root causes and aggravating factors that contribute to child marriage.

·                The Various consequences of Child Marriage:

Children who get married before they’re adults are more likely to experience several types of violence. Girls suffer more than boys from gender stereotypes and discrimination due to climate vulnerability. Families often choose girls over boys when deciding which “mouth to sacrifice” in order to conserve family resources. Boys are easier to hire and can support the family, so families are more inclined to invest in them.

Gender-based violence (GBV): Even though child marriage is a recognised a kind GBV, it can also enhance the likelihood and intensity of other forms of GBV, such as rape, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation. According to studies,¹¹ married girls endure more physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse than their unmarried counterparts. Girls who are married as youngsters find it difficult to leave an unhappy marriage because of their economic dependence on their spouses.¹² Intimate partner abuse is 50% more likely to occur for girls who marry before the age of 15 due to climate shocks, than for those who marry later. Additionally, they are more likely to experience domestic abuse and other types of violence, including sexual assault, at home. Child marriage may occasionally result from the stigma associated with having sex or from an early pregnancy brought on by sexual exploitation. 90% of adolescent births take occur in the setting of marriage, and problems related to pregnancy and delivery are among the top killers of females between the ages of 15 and 19. High infant mortality and mortality from childbirth: Early pregnancy puts girls’ lives at danger; internationally, problems from pregnancy and childbirth are the main cause of mortality for girls between the ages of 15 and 19. Additionally, child brides are more susceptible to a variety of mental health issues, such as depression, which is frequently brought on by social isolation. Girls who are married off as young children are far more likely to have female genital mutilation (FGM) in many nations, particularly in Africa, which has the highest rate of FGM incidents.Children’s physical and mental health are negatively impacted by the trauma of child marriage and the violence that surrounds it. As a result, they have higher rates of depression, femicide, suicide, and diseases like HIV. Although 2 million of the 7.3 million births to underage (18 years) females occur to girls under the age of 15, and young girls are more at risk for child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Similar to it, this research has a propensity to concentrate on the immediate effects of child marriage. Evidence

¹¹ ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY_UNFPA.pdf, https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub- pdf/ADOLESCENT%20PREGNANCY_UNFPA.pdf (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹² Sarah Neal et al., Childbearing in adolescents aged 12-15 years in low resource countries: a neglected issue. New estimates from demographic and household surveys in 42 countries, 91 ACTA OBSTET GYNECOL SCAND 1114 (2012).

about the long-term and generational impacts of child marriage is required. The financial consequences of early marriage are included here.

Governmental Involvement: Many governments, in Egypt, Malawi, India, and Bangladesh, have tried to lower the number of child marriages by rising the age of legal marriage. These rules haven’t had much of an impact, because they aren’t being enforced.

It may be necessary for civil society to provide solutions through initiatives that combine social involvement and financial assistance. If girls and women make less money than males, it could be more economical to marry them off or abandon them. But if females obtain the right education, they may have an equal chance with men of finding well-paying employment. In certain circumstances, cash transfers and education subsidies have been tried to persuade families to keep funding their daughters’ education.

3.              The Remedies: Speeded Up Action in Communities and Policies:

Without tackling the climate catastrophe, child marriages and other types of child abuse cannot be stopped. In addition, child marriages and other types of violence must be included in policies and decision-making while tackling the climate crisis. A crucial first step in taking action is the growing corpus of knowledge that is being made available to decision-makers.¹³ Strong action and advocacy from and within communities is essential in bringing about change, in addition to legislative and structural changes. People like Ayesha Hammam are fighting to alter community perceptions and bring about legislative change to prevent child marriage and encouraging people working around the world to eliminate violence against children. To expedite the understanding and action required to safeguard the rights and safety of children worldwide, the end violence community must continue to engage together across nations and situations with children and advocates.¹⁴

4.              Child Marriage linked to Climate Shock and India: A Retrospective Viewpoint

The frequency and severity of climatic changes raise the protection risks for children and young people in India, including child labour, sexual assault, and child marriage. These are findings of the researchers which highlighted hazards presented by the consequences of climate change on kids and teenagers in the Indian Sundarbans region. One of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions is the Sundarbans area, which is situated in the Bay of Bengal. Economically disadvantaged families are being pushed into the most extreme types of poverty by environmental changes including rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency of catastrophic weather occurrences. Children and teenagers are thus more exposed to abuse and exploitation, such as child trafficking and child marriage. The researchers showed how parents or other adults in the Sundarbans expose their children to more violence because they are under stress due to the effects of climate change. Concerns about their house, finances, and ability to support themselves are just a few examples of these reasons. Many parents relocate in search of employment while leaving their kids behind. Children frequently miss school in these situations in order to work or assist around the house. The high incidence of child marriages and female trafficking in the Sundarbans is well-known. The marriage of young females has increased during the past ten years. Due to a lack of resources in the home to satisfy their children’s fundamental requirements, parents frequently embrace these marriages.

Both boys and girls are at serious danger when they marry young since guys are required to provide for their families and are driven into the workforce at a young age. Girls face challenges such as

¹³ About, BRIDES OF THE SUN, https://bridesofthesun.com/about/ (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁴ Greene, supra note 11.

adolescent pregnancies and educational limitations that threaten their future and put them in a risky position.¹⁵

5.              Public Duty under international law

International Human Rights Law: All governments are required under international human rights legislation to defend the rights of women and girls. A number of international human rights documents express opposition to child marriage, either directly or obliquely. Some treaty monitoring panels are starting to incorporate climate change implications within their responsibilities.¹⁶

i)  The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”): Article 16(1) provides equal rights to men and women to enter into marriage and provides an equal right to “choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent.” Article 16(2) states that “[t]he betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.¹⁷

General Comment No. 21 on “Equality in marriage and family relations,” published by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 1994, recognised that men and women have the same legal right to get married as long as both parties have totally and voluntarily agreed. ¹⁸The Committee on the Rights of the Child and this Committee jointly issued a broad proposal on harmful practises, such as child marriage, in 2014. ¹⁹In 2018 the announcement of a general proposal from the  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  Against  Women  was  passed which addressed “[g]ender-related components of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change.” This is “the first text approved by a human rights treaty body that clearly and authoritatively determines how States must reconcile international human rights commitments into climate action,” according to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).²⁰

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”): Article 1 of the CRC defines a child as “every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is

¹⁵ Climate Change Increases the Risk of Child Marriages | Terre des hommes, https://www.tdh.ch/en/press-releases/climate-change-increases-risk-child-marriages (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

¹⁶ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, OHCHR, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments- mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁷ cedaw.pdf, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/cedaw.pdf (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁸ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Refworld | CEDAW General Recommendation No. 21: Equality in                      Marriage  and               Family               Relations,        REFWORLD, https://www.refworld.org/docid/48abd52c0.html (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁹ Comm. on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women & Comm. on the Rights of the Child, Joint General Recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/General Comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Harmful Practices, U.N.

Doc CEDAW/C/GC/3 1-CRC/C/GC/18 (2014).

²⁰ General Recommendation No. 37

attained earlier.”²¹ The Committee on the Rights of the Child called for states to²² “examine and, where required, change their legislation and practise to increase the minimum age for marriage with and without parental agreement to eighteen years, for both girls and boys” in a General Comment from 2004.²³ Furthermore, Article 24(3) requires states parties to “take all effective and suitable measures with a view to eradicating traditional practises harmful to the health of children.” International Climate Change Law: The likelihood of child marriage is clearly linked to the vulnerabilities brought on by crises, particularly crises that may be made worse by climate change, in a new but expanding body of international guidelines. There have been three resolutions against child, early, and forced marriages adopted by the UN General Assembly since 2013. The first resolution, passed in 2013, which asked for a panel debate and report on child, early, and forced marriages throughout the world, signalling a change to look at child marriage from the perspective of human rights.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030,adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015, presents an example of a missed opportunity to address child marriage. Understanding disaster risk is the first of four priority areas in this framework, which “aims to accomplish the considerable reduction of catastrophe risk and losses in lives, livelihoods, and health” . The framework acknowledges that women and children are disproportionately affected by disasters and calls for the inclusion of a gender perspective in all policies, but the only reference to gender that is made specifically refers to increasing women’s ability to find alternative sources of income in post-disaster situations.

6.              Conclusion

The research that supports the possibility that child marriage may rise due to climate change effects has been brought forth in this article. Although the study is primarily qualitative or circumstantial, it is consistent and expanding. Although more research is needed to determine the exact relationship between climate change and child marriage, governments are still required by existing international obligations to: (1) make sure that their response to climate change includes special attention and monitoring of the impact on women and girls, including any risk that climate change impacts will exacerbate or undermine efforts to end child marriage; and (2) make sure that efforts to end child marriage are designed to respond to the ways in which women and girls are affected by climate change. Assessment and monitoring the effects of climate change should be a part of efforts to end child marriage. Do national action plans aimed at ending child marriage, for instance, mention climate change? there should be decision-makers taking into account which portions of the nation are most affected by climate change when giving different regions of the country priority for anti-child marriage initiative. These programs being modified to help those affected by climate change and those who have been displaced by natural disasters. There should be a track of the occurrence of child marriage among those living in climate change-affected areas .

These are only a few of the numerous ways that climate change issues might start to be included in campaigns against child marriage.

²¹ The Convention on the Rights of the Child: The children’s version | UNICEF, https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

²² crc.c.nor.co.4.pdf, https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/crc.c.nor.co.4.pdf (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

²³Convention on the Rights of the Child, OHCHR, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments- mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

References:

¹ child_marriage_and_environmental_crises_an_evidence_brief_final.pdf https://esaro.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub- pdf/child_marriage_and_environmental_crises_an_evidence_brief_final.pdf (last visited Feb 1, 2023). ² Child Marriage Links to Climate Change | Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-day-slavery/202212/child-marriage-links-climate-  change (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

³ child_marriage_and_environmental_crises_an_evidence_brief_final.pdf, supra note 3.

⁴ Id.

⁵ How climate change is driving child marriages | End Violence, END VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN, https://www.end-violence.org/articles/how-climate-change-driving-child-marriages (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

⁶ Id.

⁷ Id.

⁸ Child Marriage Links to Climate Change | Psychology Today, supra note 4.

⁹ Margaret E Greene, Ending Child Marriage in a Generation.

¹⁰ Dana Kirkegaard, Marriage in the Forecast: The Link between Climate Change and Child Marriage, USA FOR UNFPA (2021), https://www.usaforunfpa.org/marriage-in-the-forecast-the-link-between- climate-change-and-child-marriage/ (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

¹¹ adolescent Pregnancy_UNFPA.pdf, https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub- pdf/ADOLESCENT%20PREGNANCY_UNFPA.pdf (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹² Sarah Neal et al., Childbearing in adolescents aged 12-15 years in low resource countries: a neglected issue. New estimates from demographic and household surveys in 42 countries, 91 ACTA OBSTET GYNECOL SCAND 1114 (2012).

¹³ About, BRIDES OF THE SUN, https://bridesofthesun.com/about/ (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁴ Greene, supra note 11.

¹⁵ Climate Change Increases the Risk of Child Marriages | Terre des hommes, https://www.tdh.ch/en/press-releases/climate-change-increases-risk-child-marriages (last visited Feb 1, 2023).

¹⁶ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, OHCHR, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments- mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁷ cedaw.pdf, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/cedaw.pdf (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁸ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Refworld | CEDAW General Recommendation No. 21: Equality in                      Marriage  and               Family               Relations,        REFWORLD, https://www.refworld.org/docid/48abd52c0.html (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

¹⁹ Comm. on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women & Comm. on the Rights of the Child, Joint General Recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/General Comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Harmful Practices, U.N.

Doc CEDAW/C/GC/3 1-CRC/C/GC/18 (2014).

²⁰ General Recommendation No. 37

²¹ The Convention on the Rights of the Child: The children’s version | UNICEF, https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

²² crc.c.nor.co.4.pdf, https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/crc.c.nor.co.4.pdf (last visited Feb 13, 2023).

²³Convention  on the Rights of the  Child,  OHCHR,  https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments- mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child (last visited Feb 13, 2023).