Amman, 30 April 2024 – In April 2024, RAF completed a desk review on the impact of child marriage on children living with disabilities in the MENA region. The desk review study demonstrates that marriage among children with disabilities is present in contexts where child marriage is practiced in MENA.
This must be acknowledged and brought into RAF members’ current work on policy, advocacy and programming to prevent child marriage. The impact of child marriage on children with disabilities shows that it seriously affects their overall well-being and dignity.
Child marriage leads to a cycle of violence, particularly for girls living with disabilities. There is a need for an in-depth understanding of the root causes that promote different types of discrimination and exclusion of children with disabilities from child marriage programming.
Phase III of UNFPA-UNICEF’s Global Program to end child marriage has put more focus on disability inclusion, but more needs to be done to mainstream disability throughout child marriage prevention programs and advocacy.
It is also important to ensure that youth with disabilities – and girls in particular – can participate in program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation while also being represented in advocacy initiatives.
The desk review was authored by Shirin Kiani, Disability and Inclusion Specialist Consultant, and presented during a RAF webinar on April 29 that was attended by more than 40 RAF members.
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