Fear of female sexuality: addressing an unspoken driver of early and child marriage
We all know that adolescence is, by definition, a time when children begin to mature into adults: physically, mentally and emotionally. In many communities, it’s also a time fraught with anxiety about the emerging sexuality of adolescent girls—a time when, driven by fear, some families exert tight control over where girls can go, who they can talk to, and how they dress. Because the roles of women and girls remain restricted in patriarchal societies across the world, families often marry off daughters at this age, believing their honor hinges on keeping girls virgins until marriage. In addition, families often pay lower dowries if they marry their daughters at younger ages.
