Ending child marriage and achieving rights and justice for all women and girls, will require sustained, deliberate action that addresses not only the symptoms of inequality, but its root causes, writes Leticia Achungo, Gender and Inclusion Programme Coordinator at Plan International Kenya.
As International Women’s Month 2026 draws to a close, the global call from UN Women continues to echo with urgency: Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL women and girls. This theme is not just a rallying cry; it is a reminder. A reminder that while progress towards gender equality is evident, it remains fragile. A reminder that for millions of girls, justice is still out of reach. And most importantly, a reminder that action cannot wait.
For many girls in Kenya and across the globe, the promise of rights and justice is still constrained by persistent structural barriers, particularly harmful social norms and practices. Nowhere is this more evident than in the continued reality of child marriage.
Progress is real- but not guaranteed
This March, from International Women’s Day to the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), one message has been consistent: progress for girls is real, but it is fragile, and without sustained action, it can be reversed.
Recent findings from Plan International’s landmark series Real Choices, Real Lives Final Report: 18 Years of a Global Study with Girls from Birth to Adulthood, show that while there have been notable gains for girls globally in the last two decades, those gains remain fragile, uneven and are increasingly under threat from intersecting crises, including economic instability, climate change and conflict. These pressures risk pushing vulnerable families towards harmful coping mechanisms, including early and forced marriage.
Discussions at CSW70 highlighted a growing concern: the global environment for gender equality is becoming more challenging. In a recent interview with Devex, during CSW70, Reena Ghelani, Plan International’s CEO emphasized that this is a critical moment for girls’ rights, particularly as funding constraints and global crises place increased pressure on vulnerable communities.
Her message was clear: the risks facing girls are increasing, progress cannot be assumed; and this is not the time to step back, but to adapt, invest differently, and stay focused on impact. This context matters. Because when pressure increases, girls are often the first to lose out. When resources shrink and crises intensify, harmful practices like child marriage often increase.
Child Marriage – A Persistent Injustice
Across the world, and here in Kenya, girls are still being denied their basic right to education, health, safety, and autonomy. Despite decades of advocacy, millions of girls are still married before the age of 18 every year. This is not just a statistic. It is a systemic failure.
According to the Child Marriage Data Portal, Kenya has made undeniable progress in reducing child marriage over the past decade. Today, about 13% of girls are married before the age of 18, a significant decline from nearly 28% just a generation ago.1
However, this progress is uneven. A girl growing up in a rural area is almost twice as likely to be married early as her urban counterpart. A girl from the poorest households faces rates as high as 29%. And for girls with no education, nearly one in two is married before adulthood. These are not random outcomes. They are the result of structural inequalities, poverty, exclusion, and deeply entrenched harmful and discriminatory social and gender norms that continue to deny girls their rights and limit their futures.
Where rights and justice break down
Kenya has laws that prohibit child marriage. But laws alone are not enough. More importantly, laws alone cannot dismantle the deeply entrenched social norms that continue to drive child marriage.
Child marriage persists because of harmful social and gender norms that shape how girls are valued. In many contexts, girls are still seen as economic assets, bride price becomes a coping mechanism in times of crisis with girls’ education often being deprioritized compared to boys, and in most communities, decisions about a girl’s future are often made without her voice. At its core, child marriage is not just a legal issue. It is a justice issue. These norms do more than perpetuate inequality; they actively erode girls’ ability to claim their rights and access justice.
Understanding the Interconnected Drivers: Why Child Marriage Persists
Insights from Plan International’s State of the World’s Girls 2025 report reveal that child marriage is not a singular issue; it is the result of interconnected structural drivers.
2At its core, child marriage is rooted in: gender inequality and unequal power relations, where girls are assigned lower social and economic value, poverty and economic insecurity, pushing families towards early marriage as a survival strategy, limited access to education and opportunities, reducing alternatives for girls, adolescent pregnancy, which both drives and results from early marriage, harmful social norms, which frame child marriage as protection or tradition.
These drivers are reinforced by evolving risks. The report highlights that child marriage is not disappearing; it is changing form, becoming more informal, harder to detect, and in some cases facilitated through digital spaces, making prevention more complex. The lived experiences of girls further underscore the consequences: many are pushed out of education, face early motherhood, and experience long-term social and economic exclusion. Child marriage, therefore, is not only a harmful practice but also a manifestation of systemic inequality.
The cost of inaction is too high
Every year, millions of girls globally are married before they turn 18. In Kenya, each percentage point represents thousands of girls whose education is cut short, whose health is put at risk, and whose opportunities are permanently limited. Child marriage has lifelong consequences; it is linked to early and unintended pregnancies, increased risk of and exposure to gender-based violence, school dropout and reduced economic opportunities and intergenerational cycles of poverty and inequality. The impact extends beyond individual girls, affecting families, communities, and national development outcomes. And in a world increasingly shaped by climate shocks, conflict, and economic instability, the risk is growing, not shrinking. We are at a tipping point; without urgent action, the progress we have fought so hard to achieve could be reversed.
We Object Campaign- Young people leading change
Ending child marriage requires more than policy; it requires a shift in power. Through the We Object campaign to end child marriage, Plan International is working alongside girls, communities, and partners to challenge the norms and systems that sustain this practice. This includes: Supporting girls to access and remain in education, working with communities to challenge and transform harmful social and gender norms, strengthening child protection systems, advocating for stronger implementation of laws and policies, and most importantly, we are amplifying girls’ voices; because they are not just beneficiaries of change; they are change leaders of today.
The campaign reflects a broader understanding that ending child marriage requires coordinated, multi-level action, across policy, community engagement, and service delivery. This is not only a campaign; it is a growing, youth-led movement demanding change. Young people are speaking out against the norms and systems that deny girls their rights, calling for accountability from leaders, and insisting on a future where every girl can choose if, when, and whom to marry. Across Kenya and globally, girls and young advocates are not only raising awareness, they are influencing policies, reshaping community norms, and leading change. Their message reflects the core of this year’s theme: rights must be realized, and justice must be lived, not promised.
We know what works; now we must scale it
Across contexts, evidence continues to show that when girls are supported to stay in school, when families are economically resilient, and when communities shift norms, child marriage declines. The solutions exist and they are known. The challenge is scale, consistency, and sustained investment.
The theme of Rights. Justice. Action is a call to move beyond commitments toward measurable change. Across all sectors, there must be a continued commitment to centering girls, not only as beneficiaries, but as active leaders in shaping solutions. For all of us working in this space, it means staying accountable to the girls we serve, not just to targets and timelines, but to their lived realities.
From Momentum to Lasting Change
International Women’s Day provided an important moment for reflection, but the work does not end there. The progress made in reducing child marriage in Kenya demonstrates what is possible. At the same time, the persistence of the practice highlights the scale of effort that is still required. Ending child marriage and achieving rights and justice for all women and girls, will require sustained, deliberate action that addresses not only the symptoms of inequality, but its root causes. Because every statistic represents a girl and every girl has the right to: grow up free from harm, access quality education, participate in decisions that affect her life, and realize her full potential.
Rights must be upheld, Justice must be accessible, and action must be accelerated.
For every girl in Kenya, and everywhere.
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