This thesis examines the custom of child marriage in Islamic law and its practice in Muslim society. It also gives an overview of the history of child marriage from ancient to modern times. The focus of this research is the status of child marriage in the modern Muslim world as a continuation of ancient tradition and the role historical interpretations of Islamic law play in its perpetuation. / Child marriage was once a globally accepted and practiced phenomenon. Over the centuries its practice has diminished considerably. Today, although child marriage is viewed as an offensive act and discouraged by the majority of governments around the world, it continues to exist to a significant extent in most parts of the Muslim world. Those Muslim communities which persist in condoning and practicing child marriage are not only affected by cultural traditions but also by their form of understanding of Islamic law. This particular understanding is mostly informed by local religious leaders within their communities who base their justifications on medieval perspectives and interpretations of what constitutes divine law. / It is no coincidence, however, that child marriage is restricted to the impoverished, uneducated and rural sectors of society; people who have little choice in deciding their futures and due to harsh and straitened circumstances find it difficult to see any other alternatives.

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This study seeks to achieve a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of child marriage among Syrian refugees, identify the causes and the consequences of this phenomenon, and explore the relationship between the armed conflict in Syria and the prevalence of child marriage practices among Syrian refugees living in refugee camps in Lebanon. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used the case study approach and mixed-methods methodology in data collection and analysis. Quantitative data were collected by questionnaire from twenty participants, all women who married before the age of eighteen. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with ten of the participants, all of whom married before the age of eighteen. The findings indicate the contributing role played by the Syrian armed conflict in the prevalence of child marriage practices among Syrian refugees and that Syrian refugees used child marriage as a survival strategy. The results also reveal that there are two types of child marriages: forced and consensual. The study demonstrates that child marriage is a serious violation of children's rights. Recommendations for governments, NGOs, and further research are included. / Denna studie söker uppnå en djupare förståelse för företeelsen barnäktenskap så som den yttrar sig bland syriska flyktingar, att identifiera orsakerna och konsekvenserna av detta fenomen och att titta närmare på relationen mellan den beväpnade konflikten i Syrien och förekomsten av barnäktenskap bland syriska flyktingar som bor i flyktingläger i Libanon. För att nå undersökningens mål använde forskaren ”case study”-formen och mixed-methods-metoden för datainsamling och analys. Kvantitativa data samlades via frågeformulär från tjugo deltagare, samtliga kvinnor, som gifte sig före arton års ålder. Kvalitativa data samlades genom intervjuer med tio av deltagarna, som samtliga gifte sig före arton års ålder. Resultatet pekar på den påverkan som den syriska beväpnade konflikten spelat i förekomsten av barnäktenskap som brukas bland syriska flyktingar och att syriska flyktingar använde barnäktenskap som en överlevnadsstrategi. Resultaten visar också att det finns två typer av barnäktenskap: tvångsäktenskap och samförståndsäktenskap. Studien visar att barnäktenskap är en allvarlig kränkning av barns rättigheter. Rekommendationer för regeringar, icke-statliga organisationer och för vidare forskning är inkluderade.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-124). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

In despite of all attention drawn to child marriage across the world, there is a lack of improvement. The object of this research is to look into under what circumstances child marriage does exist and how girls’ living conditions can be improved. Focus shall be put on child marriage in general exemplified in particular by two countries in Africa, namely Niger and Chad, who both are countries with an extremely high rate of child marriage. This is a desk study based on various reports regarding the subject in the different countries and also in general. As the theoretical framework, the sex role theory is applied in order to analyze the phenomenon. Studies indicate a great difference in the number of young married girls in comparison to boys across the globe. Even though boys can be victims of child marriage, the consequences are less severe and therefore, focus shall be put on girls only in this thesis. The number of girls entering early marriage has not been found to stagnate everywhere, but the age of when entering marriage tends to increase. In fact, child marriage has become more common in some areas. From the research it is concluded that one cannot generalize all underlying causes of child marriage, but one must be aware of the specific circumstances in the particular areas. Conclusions regarding underlying factors and correlations are further to be found and presented in the text.

This thesis looks at the issue of child marriage and the discourse used by major international NGOs in their program reports and briefs to promote the end of child marriage. Through this thesis, it is argued that there is a need for a more prominent gender analysis that takes into account the current structural conditions which perpetuate gender inequality and reinforce notions of vulnerability and disempowerment of the child forced to marry (girl or boy). Child marriage programming fails to fully address the transformative changes needed to end – or to significantly impact - this global problem and to fully address the denial of human rights arising from child marriage. Using a qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis, this thesis examines 10 publicly-available documents based on a continuum of impacts from essentialism, to gender mainstreaming, to transformative change. The findings shows that there is a prevalence of gender mainstreaming discourse, although still often employed in conjunction with some gender essentialist language. To see real change in the world, there needs to be a switch towards transformative language within the discourse of organizations that are trying to make a change on the ground.

This dissertation is composed of three essays under the recurring theme of women’s issues, child health and economic development. In the first chapter, I examine the effect of Child Marriage on the health outcomes of offspring in Bangladesh. I use an exogenous variation in drought and flood shocks as an instrument for Child Marriage and measure children’s health outcomes by stunting, from the height-for-age index. I develop a theoretical model to show that the decision to marry a daughter early is driven by the type of income shocks that a household is exposed to. From the empirical estimation, I find that children from Child Marriage unions are more likely to be stunted. I also find that the effect of Child Marriage is concentrated through increases in severe stunting. In the second chapter, I estimate the impact of Child Marriage on the mortality outcomes of offspring in Bangladesh. Similar to the empirical strategy in the first chapter, I focus on the effect of an exogenous temporary shock on the marriage decision, to allow for identification of a causal impact. The results indicate that in comparison to children of later-married women, children from Child Marriage unions are more likely to die before reaching the age of five. Further, I find that the effect of Child Marriage is smaller on infant mortality. By examining the impact by gender, the results suggest that the predominant effect of Child Marriage is focused on increases in male child and infant mortality. In the third chapter, I examine the effect of Sharia Law on the health outcomes of children in Nigeria. The measures of health outcomes are constructed from the height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height indices. I apply a difference-in-differences estimation strategy and exploit the variation in exposure to Sharia law across time and state of residence. I also explore the effect of Sharia Law on women’s empowerment. The results indicate that Sharia Law substantially increases the probability of stunting in children. In states with high enforcement of Sharia Law, children are more likely to be stunted and underweight. The results suggest a negative association between Sharia Law and women’s empowerment with respect to household and medical decision-making, control over resources and self-worth.

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AbstractFor this thesis I have conducted a discourse analysis on which discourses that are being reproduced in texts on the issue of male engagement in ending child marriage. I am looking at the agency of both males and females, what is taken for granted, words that carry norms and how these are maintain or challenging the dominant discourse on the topic.In the thesis I have analysed manuals/briefs on male engagement in ending child marriage using Fairclough’s approach to discourse. Fairclough uses the concept of discourse in three ways. First, discourse refers to language use as social practice. Secondly, discourse is explained as language used within a specific field, such as a scientific discourse. Thirdly discourse is used as a count noun referring to a way of speaking which gives meaning to experiences from a specific perspective (Jørgensen & Phillips 2002). Per Fairclough, discourse constructs social identities, social relations as well as knowledge and meaning (Jørgensen & Phillips 2002). Norms that shape discourses are a crucial for my analysis in this thesis. Norms can either be maintained or challenged and the norm critical approach is suitable for investing power relations.I found that there is not just one relevant discourse being reproduced in the texts. Some segments are displaying the girls as more passive, maintaining a stereotype. While others use an approach that may challenge the normal assumption. All texts emphasize on working towards changing a potential harmful masculine gender norm for men and boys which in the end can affect the likeliness of child marriage and empowerment of the females. They are assumed to not be equal on their own, they need to be encouraged to change their behaviours and open up to a more inclusive masculine gender norm. Overall, the language that is used in the manuals is “soft” in its approach and not judgemental or critical. This possibly to be sensitive and not create aggression. The texts claim that they wish to shift norms and behaviours on the issue. The risk is that the texts may not condemn child marriage or emphasize the downsides enough when they are more focused on turning men into allies.

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