AVOIDANCE OF EARLY GIRL MARRIAGE
Marriage Can Wait: Empowering Cambodia’s Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow
Cambodia has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Southeast Asia. Affected girls often have to drop out of school and are at risk of domestic violence. Kamboo Project is committed to ending child marriages in the Prasat Bakong district by empowering girls and families through education and awareness. The goal is to create a future where every Cambodian girl has the freedom to shape her own life path.
Background
The reality of early marriages in Cambodia is distressing!
Early marriage is still widespread across Cambodia. According to the Demographic and Health Survey 2021-2022, nearly 20% of girls are married before the age of 18, with 7% marrying before the age of 15. By the age of 20, half of all young women are married. These disturbing statistics paint a portrait of a society still grappling with deeply entrenched cultural norms and economic pressures.
Early marriage undermines the education and personal development of girls and young women; it violates fundamental girls’ rights and contradicts international agreements such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Women (CEDAW). Although the legal age of marriage is 18, the law is by no means effective in combating early marriage. It contains exceptions, such as allowing minors to marry in the case of pregnancy. Additionally, it is possible to marry from the age of 16 if a partner has reached the age of majority and with parental consent. Besides these loopholes, intentional circumventions also undermine the law. According to a report by the Cambodian NGO Committee for CEDAW, it is not uncommon for parents or husbands to bribe local authorities to falsify a girl’s birth date to arrange an early marriage.
Child marriages are most common in rural and remote areas of the country. In the Province of Siem Reap, where Kamboo Project operates, 23% of girls are married before their 18th birthday.
Unfortunately, early marriages have devastating consequences for the girls involved. When girls under 18 who could actually be attending school are married early, they are often forced to stop their education. They are also at increased risk of becoming victims of gender-specific violence. Early pregnancies are not uncommon and result in young women becoming financially and socially dependent on their husbands. It is estimated that around 1,000 girls in the 52 schools we support in the Prasat Bakong district would continue to attend school if they were not trapped in this fatal situation.
Central Challenge
Saying ‘I do’ to education: protecting Cambodia’s girls from early marriage
In Cambodia, and more so in rural areas like the Prasat Bakong district, outdated gender roles and cultural practices are deeply rooted. Reversing long-standing gender norms and cultural mores will not be easy, but progress is possible when communities come together to prioritize education and empowerment for girls. The success of our initiative will depend on how well we can promote a more modern image of women and raise awareness of girls’ and women’s rights in local communities, schools, and families. This task is challenging, but the following strategies will help us tackle it:
- Involving local stakeholders and authorities, including school leadership
- Creating economic incentives
- Engaging with affected girls and families
Our goal is to raise awareness of the benefits of later marriages through targeted workshops. Our focus is initially on the schools we already cooperate with to reach and sensitize girls and families who may soon be facing such a decision.
Our aim is to foster a better understanding of the plight of girls across the region and to bring about a fundamental change in attitudes towards early marriage. We hope that this practice will gradually fade away, creating an environment where young girls are encouraged to reach their full potential.
Thanks to our long-standing presence in 52 primary schools in the Prasat Bakong district, we have already gained the trust of the local population, which is an indispensable foundation for the success of the awareness change we have initiated.
Implementation
Pilot project sees successful rollout
In 2022, three-day workshops to prevent early marriages of girls were held across five upper secondary schools in the Prasat Bakong district. A total of 209 female students participated, along with parents, teachers, and a representative of the local education authority wherever possible. Our team led the workshops, supported by a qualified trainer. The preliminary results of the pilot project are encouraging: The number of girls registered and regularly attending classes has increased.
We plan to hold such workshops regularly and extend them to other schools. Additionally, we conduct workshops at the community level. Here, we highlight a student or a former student from the local community who has directly benefited from our campaign. These “focal students” serve as role models and sources of inspiration and are encouraged to actively participate in public speaking events. This is intended to enhance their impact in the community and initiate intergenerational changes from within.
Budget
The project costs are $400 per workshop or $2,250 per workshop cycle with 40 girls and parents each.