A French newspaper reported that climate change is leading to an increase in child marriages in developing countries, spotlighting cases of girls as young as 12. The article suggests that natural disasters are compelling impoverished families to marry off their daughters at younger ages.
Le Parisien’s report, titled “She was only 12: Climate change, a new accelerator of child marriage,” directly connects climate-related disasters to early marriages in countries like Bangladesh and Kenya.
According to the newspaper, “In Bangladesh, Kenya, and other places, climate disasters exacerbate child marriages. By destroying incomes and homes, they push some families to marry off their daughters at increasingly younger ages.”
This coverage received backlash from Tina Descovich, the CEO and co-founder of Moms for Liberty. She criticized the assertion linking climate change to child marriage, arguing it deflects responsibility from those exploiting children.
Descovich remarked that blaming climate factors for such practices is “wild” and merely serves as an “absurd excuse” for unacceptable behavior, shifting accountability from people to environmental issues. In her view, accountability and strong family values are crucial to protecting children.
Furthermore, a Plan International report cited by Le Parisien indicated that 36% of 5,000 surveyed girls and young women across five countries reported an uptick in child marriages following disasters tied to climate change. Researchers conducted this survey in Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru, Senegal, and Zimbabwe. A notable 11% of these young women stated they had been personally affected by child marriage.
The newspaper also highlighted a specific incident involving a 12-year-old girl in Bangladesh who was married just four days after experiencing harassment during a cyclone shelter crisis. A friend of the girl mentioned that she later faced severe health issues after giving birth to a child who did not survive.
Another case discussed was that of Runa, a 15-year-old girl who was married off after a cyclone devastated her family’s livelihood. Runa expressed her desire to continue her education instead of marrying, feeling quite hopeless about the decision made by her family. Ultimately, with help from aid organizations, she was allowed to return to school after her marriage, and she now feels hopeful for the future.
Child marriage has been a longstanding issue in Bangladesh. UNICEF’s report from 2025 noted that around 47.2% of women aged 20 to 24 had been married before turning 18, showing a slight decrease from previous years.
UNICEF cites multiple factors contributing to child marriage, including poverty, entrenched gender norms, obstacles to education, and now, increasingly, the impacts of climate-related disasters.
Bangladesh has a Child Marriage Restraint Act established in 2017, which generally prohibits marriages before the age of 18. However, there are exceptions that allow underage marriages with parental consent and court approval under certain conditions.
According to representatives from Plan International, financial strains from climate-related disasters are intensifying pressures on families dependent on agriculture and livestock, with many looking to ease their burdens by marrying off daughters.
While there appears to be a correlation between climate-related events and child marriage, the survey findings do not definitively conclude that human-driven climate change is directly responsible for individual cases of early marriage discussed in the reports.
