The Rohingya people have faced an extended period of severe and systemic oppression characterized by a lack of freedom of movement, limited access to sufficient food, inadequate health care, and restricted educational and livelihoods opportunities. The process of “othering,” exclusion, discriminatory treatment, and “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya people in Myanmar is well documented. According to the Myanmar Citizenship Law of 1982, Rohingya Muslims are considered to be “stateless” and “illegal immigrants”. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group that have been forcibly displaced due to increasing violence in the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar. Refugee crises are characterized by a loss of livelihoods, decreased economic opportunity, heightened insecurity, and the absence of education, all of which can contribute to changes in marriage practices and increases in child marriage. It is also understood that social and economic factors that contribute to child marriage may be exacerbated by conflict and insecurity and may lead to increases in child marriage. Previous research in other humanitarian and post-conflict settings suggest that gender inequities may be accelerated during crises and following displacement. ![]() These include conflict, displacement, and food insecurity countries with high child marriage also tend to be fragile states. ĭespite global gains in addressing child marriage, including a decline from 25 to 21% of young women married under age 18 in the last decade, research suggests that there may be significant within-country variation due in part to contextual factors that accelerate vulnerability for girls. Drivers of child marriage are context-specific, but most research suggests gender inequities including low status of women and girls, religious norms that dictate timing of marriage, importance of motherhood, and limited alternatives are important drivers of child marriage. For example, child marriage is associated with a number of negative outcomes for girls including an increased risk of intimate partner violence, higher maternal mortality, and lower education levels. Although child marriage is often practiced to protect the physical security of girls, marriage at young ages can pose multiple threats to young girls’ lives, health, and future prospects. However, our findings also suggest group norms around religious and cultural preferences for age at marriage play a significant role in post-displacement behaviors surrounding marriage.Ĭhild marriage, or marriage before age 18, is a significant problem faced by millions of girls each year. Our findings support evidence that conflict and displacement increase child marriage in populations already vulnerable to child marriage by exacerbating gender inequities. Host community participants perceive the presence of the Rohingya as encouraging both polygamy and child marriage in their communities, leading to tension among the host community. Now this preference is more easily practiced in the camps in Bangladesh where the displaced Rohingya experience less marriage regulation. Although child marriage was practiced by the Rohingya in Myanmar, specific state law and oppression by military forces prevented many from marrying before age 18. We found that child marriage is a strong cultural phenomenon among the Rohingya, primarily rooted in socio-cultural and religious beliefs around readiness for marriage. ![]() Our primary objective was to describe how displacement influenced marriage timing and practices. We also interviewed Bangladeshis in the host community to complement our understanding of marriage in the camps and its influence in the broader community. ![]() We conducted in-depth interviews ( n = 48) and focus group discussions ( n = 12) with Rohingya male and female adolescents and young adults (14–24 years), and program managers and service providers ( n = 24) working in Cox’s Bazar to understand their experience of living or working in the camps, preferences for timing of marriage, and marriage practices in Myanmar and in the camps. This displacement has resulted in an estimated population of nearly 1 million Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazar. In 2017, the Rohingya experienced a mass displacement to Bangladesh in response to escalating violence in Myanmar. Previous research suggests that child marriage may be accelerated during times of crisis and insecurity as resources are scarce and child marriage may be a survival strategy for girls and their families.
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