Perspectives on Early Marriage: The voices of female youth in Iraqi Kurdistan and South Sudan who married under age 18

This briefing paper focuses on the decision-making processes that led displaced female youth to marry as minors in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and South Sudan, based on the actual stories of study participants. Reasons for early marriage are varied and relate to love; early pregnancy; the wish for meaning, social connection, and motherhood; coping with the emotional effects of war; a wish for increased freedom; escape from family violence and community harassment; seeking of educational, economic, or resettlement opportunities; family pressure; sexual violence; and force, among others.

This material is a part of the Early Marriage among Female Youth in Displacement Collection.