Child marriages’ impact on economy

ISLAMABAD: Child marriages in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have cost Pakistan a potential income loss of over Rs18.2 billion, says a study.

Almost half a million female students leave their education because of early marriage in Punjab and KP alone.

A study on child marriage in Pakistan conducted by the United Nations Women, Pakistan, and the National Commission on the Status of Women reveals that over 360,000 female students in Punjab and 136,000 in KP were deprived of education in a year due to early marriage.

Furthermore, child marriages in these two provinces cause a potential loss of GDP with a value of almost one billion rupees every year.

Sharmeela Rasool, the country representative of UN Women Pakistan, has shared some interesting insights into the study.

“The insightful data collected from Punjab and KP and analysis were undertaken for this pioneering report estimates that the cost of child marriages in these two provinces amounted to Rs966 million from July 2019-July 2020.”

Taking into consideration the population of Punjab at around 110 million in 2019 and the prevalence of child marriage at 27pc, the cost of child marriage translates into a loss of around US$4.75 million, which is equivalent to 0.275pc of the total GDP value for the province. “KP has different variables: the incidence of child marriage is 11pc higher; the population and per capita GDP is lower; thus, this study estimates a loss of US $1.05 million in GDP, representing a loss of 0.4pc of total GDP value at the provincial level,” writes Mrs. Sharmeela.

The study further unfolds how labour force participation (LFP) decreases owing to child marriages.

In Punjab, almost 21 percent of labour losses were caused by child marriage in one year whereas LFP decreased by 16 percent in KP for the same year of the study.

The potential wage loss due to physical abuse as a result of early marriage is almost Rs5.2 billion in Punjab and almost Rs1.2 billion in KP every year, says the study.

According to the study, child marriage has resulted in a total potential income loss of over Rs18.2 billion.

Interestingly, every year, more than 50 percent of domestic violence against women in KP happens due to child marriage, while only 14 percent of the total women’s domestic violence cases in Punjab are caused by the same reason. Moreover, the study reflects that 21 percent of the population of Punjab increased due to early marriages, while 14 percent of the KP population increased for the same reason.