[Name and Shame] These 3 African countries and the U.S. are slacking on child marriage

Niger

Three out of four girls marry before they turn 18 in Niger, the country with the highest rate of child marriage in the world. A recent research by the International Centre for Research on Women and the World Bank indicated that ending child marriage in Niger could save the country more than $25 billion. However, many girls are still married and this has been attributed mainly to poverty. For some, having a child marry early is aimed at upholding social and religious traditions.

Statistics indicate that 81% of women aged 20-24 with no education and 63% with only primary education were married or in a union at age 18, compared to only 17% of women with secondary education or higher. The legal age of marriage for girls in Niger is 15. A law has been proposed to change the age to 18 for girls but is yet to be adopted.