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PREVALENCE OF CHILD MARRIAGE AMONG BANGLADESHI WOMEN AND TREND OF CHANGE OVER TIME

Hossain MG, Mahumud RA, Saw A

J Biosoc Sci, 2016 Aug;48(4):530-8.
PMID: 26286142 DOI: 10.1017/S0021932015000279

Many Bangladeshi women marry early, and many marry before the legal age of 18 years. This practice has been associated with a higher risk of health and medical morbidities, and also early pregnancy with higher pre- and postnatal complications. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, and factors associated with, child marriage among Bangladeshi women using multiple binary logistic regression analysis of data from the BDHS-2011. Further analysis on the trend of age at first marriage was performed with additional data sets from previous surveys. The mean and median of ages at first marriage of Bangladeshi women in 2011 were 15.69±2.97 and 15.00 years, respectively. A remarkably high percentage (78.2%) married before the age of 18; of these, 5.5% married at a very early age (before 13 years of age). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that uneducated women were more likely to be married early (p<0.001) than those with secondary and higher education. Child marriage was especially pronounced among women with uneducated husbands, Muslims, those with poor economic backgrounds and those living in rural areas. Further analysis including data from previous BDHS surveys showed that child marriage among Bangladeshi women had a decreasing trend from 1993-94 to 2011. These results show that child marriage was very common in Bangladesh, and closely associated with low level of education and low economic status. The decreasing trend in child marriage indicates an improvement over the past two decades but more effort is needed to further reduce and eventually eliminate the practice.

Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data*
Mutual compensation of the effects of religious and ethnic homogamy on reproduction

Huber S, Fieder M

Am J Hum Biol, 2018 01;30(1).
PMID: 28960565 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23064

OBJECTIVES: Homogamy, mating based on similarity, has been demonstrated for a great variety of traits such as age, education, religion, and physical and psychological traits. Recently, pro-fertile effects of religious as well as educational homogamy have been reported. We investigate whether ethnic homogamy also has a pro-fertile effect and whether ethnic and religious homogamy interact in their putative effects on reproduction (in terms of average number of offspring).
METHODS: We analyzed the association between ethnic as well as religious homogamy and woman's average number of offspring based on census data from ten countries provided by IPUMS international, encompassing a total of 1,485,433 married women aged 46-60 years (who have thus completed or almost completed reproduction) and their spouses.
RESULTS: We find a clear pro-fertile but nonadditive effect of both ethnic and religious homogamy, which is most pronounced in the case of double homogamy. Our results further indicate that homogamy for one trait may compensate for heterogamy of the other, albeit countries differ regarding which trait compensates for the other.
CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the interaction between ethnic homogamy, religious homogamy, and reproduction provides an interesting example for gene-culture co-evolution.

Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data*
Spike in child marriage in Bangladesh during COVID-19: Determinants and interventions

Afrin T, Zainuddin M

Child Abuse Negl, 2021 02;112:104918.
PMID: 33412413 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104918
Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data*
Customary Marriages in Rural Pakistan

Rehan N, Qayyum K

Med J Malaysia, 2017 06;72(3):175-178.
PMID: 28733565

BACKGROUND: Although the incidents of customary marriages are frequently reported in Pakistani press, yet no large scale community-based study has ever been conducted to gauge the magnitude of such marriages. The present study is the first-ever community based study on this topic.
METHODS: 4,385 ever-married women, aged 18-83 years, from six rural districts, were interviewed to enquire about the types of their marriages. The data was collected through interviews conducted by trained female interviewers and analysed through SPSS-20.
RESULTS: Twelve percent marriages were the result of Vanni, Swara, Sang Chatti, Badal , Bazo i.e. to settle blood feuds; 58.7% were Watta-Satta / Pait Likhai i.e. exchange marriages and pledging a fetus; in 7.9% case bride was bought; 1.0% marriages were Badle-Sullah i.e to settle dispute other than murder and 0.1% women were married to Quran. The traditional marriages, where wishes of both families and consent of the couple to be married are also considered, constituted 20.3%. The prevalence of Vanni, Swara / Sang Chatti / Badal / Bazo was the highest in Balochistan (22-24%) followed by Sindh (5-17%) and the least in Punjab (0-4%). The other practices in Balochistan were selling the bride (10-17%), Badle-Sulah (3%) and marriage to Quran (1%). Watta Satta was most prevalent in Sindh (66-78%), where 3-13% brides were bought. In Punjab also Watta-Satta was common (44-47%), where 0.5-4% brides were bought and 0.3-3% marriages were Budle-Sullah.
CONCLUSIONS: Since laws against these harmful customs exist but are not applied forcefully, there is a great need to create massive awareness against such customs.

Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data
Child marriage in Bangladesh: trends and determinants

Kamal SM, Hassan CH, Alam GM, Ying Y

J Biosoc Sci, 2015 Jan;47(1):120-39.
PMID: 24480489 DOI: 10.1017/S0021932013000746

This study examines the trends and determinants of child marriage among women aged 20-49 in Bangladesh. Data were extracted from the last six nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys conducted during 1993-2011. Simple cross-tabulation and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were adopted. According to the survey conducted in 2011, more than 75% of marriages can be categorized as child marriages. This is a decline of 10 percentage points in the prevalence of child marriage compared with the survey conducted in 1993-1994. Despite some improvements in education and other socioeconomic indicators, Bangladeshi society still faces the relentless practice of early marriage. The mean age at first marriage has increased by only 1.4 years over the last one and half decades, from 14.3 years in 1993-1994 to 15.7 years in 2011. Although the situation on risk of child marriage has improved over time, the pace is sluggish. Both the year-of-birth and year-of-marriage cohorts of women suggest that the likelihood of marrying as a child has decreased significantly in recent years. The risk of child marriage was significantly higher when husbands had no formal education or little education, and when the wives were unemployed or unskilled workers. Muslim women living in rural areas have a greater risk of child marriage. Women's education level was the single most significant negative determinant of child marriage. Thus, the variables identified as important determinants of child marriage are: education of women and their husbands, and women's occupation, place of residence and religion. Programmes to help and motivate girls to stay in school will not only reduce early marriage but will also support overall societal development. The rigid enforcement of the legal minimum age at first marriage could be critical in decreasing child marriage.

Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data
Body mass index of married Bangladeshi women: trends and association with socio-demographic factors

Hossain MG, Bharati P, Aik S, Lestrel PE, Abeer A, Kamarul T

J Biosoc Sci, 2012 Jul;44(4):385-99.
PMID: 22340969 DOI: 10.1017/S002193201200003X

Body mass index (BMI) is a good indicator of nutritional status in a population. In underdeveloped countries like Bangladesh, this indicator provides a method that can assist intervention to help eradicate many preventable diseases. This study aimed to report on changes in the BMI of married Bangladeshi women who were born in the past three decades and its association with socio-demographic factors. Data for 10,115 married and currently non-pregnant Bangladeshi women were extracted from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). The age range of the sample was 15-49 years. The mean BMI was 20.85 ± 3.66 kg/m(2), and a decreasing tendency in BMI was found among birth year cohorts from 1972 to 1992. It was found that the proportion of underweight females has been increasing in those born during the last 20 years of the study period (1972 to 1992). Body mass index increased with increasing age, education level of the woman and her husband, wealth index, age at first marriage and age at first delivery, and decreased with increasing number of ever-born children. Lower BMI was especially pronounced among women who were living in rural areas, non-Muslims, employed women, women not living with their husbands (separated) or those who had delivered at home or non-Caesarean delivery.

Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data*
Fulltext Differentials in the prevalence of anemia among non-pregnant, ever-married women in Bangladesh: multilevel logistic regression analysis of data from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey

Kamruzzaman M, Rabbani MG, Saw A, Sayem MA, Hossain MG

BMC Womens Health, 2015;15:54.
PMID: 26219633 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-015-0211-4

Anemia is one of the most common public health problems globally, and high prevalence has been reported among women of reproductive age, especially in developing countries. This study was conducted to evaluate differentials in the prevalence of anemia among non-pregnant, ever-married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh, and to examine associations with demographic, socioeconomic, and nutritional factors.

Matched MeSH terms: Marriage/statistics & numerical data*