Reasons for early marriage of women in Zahedan, Iran: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Early marriage occurs in some regions of the world. Given that early marriage can have many negative consequences for girls by affecting their physical, mental, and social health, the purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for early marriage from the perspective of women who had experienced it in Zahedan, Iran. METHODS: This qualitative research was conducted based on the qualitative content analysis method in 2020–2021. The target population included women aged 18–35 living in Zahedan who were married under the age of 18 years. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants. In order to collect data, in-depth interviews were performed to decipher the reasons for early marriage from these women’s perspectives. A total of 36 interviews were conducted from October to December 2020 until reaching theoretical saturation. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data and extract the relevant concepts and categories. RESULTS: The analysis of the interviews in this study revealed three main categories:(1) “early marriage as a transcendental coercion” ( early marriage as a cultural heritage and early marriage as a control tool, girls’ weaknesses and inability to resist, dominant attitudes toward gender and gender restrictions), (2) “early marriage as a solution or a kind of problem solving” (escape from undesirable family environment, escape from financial poverty, and strategic escape from an unpleasant situation), and (3) “early marriage as a voluntary act” (real agency and imaginary agency). To substantiate these findings, we presented excerpts from the interviews conducted with the participants. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest a multidimensional picture of early marriage. It seems that improving cultural conditions and empowering families and girls in various areas, including marriage, can reduce the rate of early marriage and/or at least mitigate its undesirable consequences.