At just 14, Rehana’s childhood dreams of studying and supporting her parents came to an end. Growing up in a poor household in Bangladesh, she often wondered who would care for her parents since she had no brothers. Determined to take on that responsibility, she devoted herself to school. But when a wealthy family proposed marriage, her ambitions were set aside.
“I didn’t understand how to get married… I liked to study. I studied all the time,” recalls Rehana, whose name has been changed for safety. Now 17, she is among an estimated 38 million girls in Bangladesh,and 650 million worldwide,married before turning 18.
Her story appears in the 2025 State of the World’s Girls Report by Plan International, shared exclusively with CNN. Based on more than 250 interviews with girls married as children across 15 countries, and over 240 activists, the report exposes the lasting effects of child marriage: loss of education, limited opportunities, exposure to abuse, and lack of control over reproductive health.
Despite legal bans, many of these unions,often informal or community-recognized,go unchecked. Researchers found that one in four girls sought divorce or separation, but many were unprepared for the challenges that followed.
Rehana’s case reflects both cultural pressures and economic hardship. Her parents, struggling on her father’s meager income as a rickshaw driver, were persuaded by promises from the groom’s wealthy family: financial support, education funding, and delayed cohabitation. For them, the marriage felt like protection against poverty and social stigma.
For Diana in Zambia, marriage came at 16 after she became pregnant. Raised in a farming family that often survived on one meal a day, she was drawn to Jacob, a 20-year-old who provided money and attention. Fearful her parents would reject her pregnancy, she moved in with him,an informal union considered equivalent to marriage in her community. Though Zambian law bans marriage under 18, informal unions like Diana’s slip through legal cracks.
In Ecuador, Jen’s story highlights another side of the issue. At 13, she began a relationship with Yan, a 20-year-old. By 15, she had moved in with him, a decision widely accepted in her community. Now 18, she describes him as kind and supportive, but her early union nonetheless reflects the limited choices facing girls in marginalized areas.
The report emphasizes that such marriages are rarely simple cases of parental coercion. Instead, they often stem from poverty, limited education, insecurity, and social norms. Still, the consequences are severe: 35% of girls in the study left school due to marriage, and over 10% reported partner violence.
Experts warn that laws alone cannot end child marriage. “Laws without enforcement, accountability, and social change achieve little,” says Veronica Kamanga Njikho, UNICEF senior adviser. Instead, keeping girls in school, supporting families financially, and challenging harmful norms are key.
As the stories of Rehana, Diana, and Jen show, child marriage remains a global challenge. For millions of girls, it is not a choice but the product of poverty, limited options, and systemic failure.
