Direct Link to Full 6-PAGE 2024 Document:

CRANK_Research_Spotlight_Economic_empowerment.pdf (girlsnotbrides.org)

Key findings: The impact of economic empowerment interventions on child marriage

Economic empowerment interventions can delay marriage in a relatively short time, but the effects are often stronger or only evident among younger adolescents. This is shown in evidence from girl-focused interventions in Bangladesh,2 Liberia3 and Uganda,4 and one household-focused intervention in India.5 A household-level intervention in rural Ethiopia6 showed delayed marriage among younger adolescents, but increased child marriage prevalence among older adolescent girls aged 15 to 19.

Livelihood skills – including financial literacy – reduce child marriage and increase adolescent girls’ employment, access to and/or control over resources, and/or their economic autonomy. In Bangladesh, girls in communities exposed to the economic empowerment arm of the BAKILA programme – which offered 144 hours of life-skills and livelihood training – were 23% less likely to marry before age 18 than the control group.7

Access to economic opportunities can lead adolescent girls to stay in school and delay marriage. In Bangladesh, one study found that girls exposed to the garment sectora – which requires workers to have basic literacy and numeracy – stayed in school (especially when younger) and postponed marriage to work in factories. Girls in this group were 0.3 percentage points less likely to marry than girls in the control group.8

The visibility of economic opportunities for adolescent girls and women is important in delaying marriage. Evidence from girl-focused programming in India shows female leadership influences adolescent girls’ educational attainment, and career and marriage aspirations. This seems to be a role model effect, as there was no evidence of changes in young women’s labour market opportunities.9

WUNRN – 02.05.2024