{"id":315848,"date":"2026-03-04T14:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T19:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848///unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//www.un.org/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//unispal/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//?post_type=document&p=315848"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:42:01","slug":"unfpa-child-marriages-surge-in-gaza-as-war-tightens-grip-on-girls-futures","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848///unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//www.un.org/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//unispal/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//document/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//unfpa-child-marriages-surge-in-gaza-as-war-tightens-grip-on-girls-futures/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//","title":{"rendered":"Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA: Child marriages surge in Gaza as war tightens grip on girls/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019 futures"},"content":{"rendered":"
/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
4 March 2026/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
To provide a secure environment where girls can seek immediate and longer-term help from gender-based violence, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA supports safe spaces, youth hubs and girls/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019 tents across Gaza./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u00a9 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA Palestine/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//Social Development Forum/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
GAZA, The Occupied Palestinian Territory /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cWhen my aunt asked for my hand in marriage for her son, my father agreed immediately,/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d said Amal*, from Khan Younis in southern Gaza. But the ceremony wasn/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019t a happy one /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 at least not for her. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cThere was no wedding, no dress, no celebration,/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d she said. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cIt felt like a deal to get rid of a burden./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Reports of child marriages are rising across Gaza as displacement, poverty and the collapse of social, legal, health and protection systems fuel insecurity and force families into impossible choices. For many, marrying a daughter off can be seen as a way to cope financially, or to protect girls from the sexual abuse and coercion that are all too common in crisis settings./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cI married to escape one hardship, only to find another/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 Amal, 15/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Amal, who was just 14 at the time, searched for some light in her despair. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cI told myself maybe life would be better. Maybe someone would care for me and I wouldn/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019t go to bed hungry. But my wedding night was very hard./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
She suffered severe bleeding from being forced to have sex while still a child, while malnourished, and while her small body was weakened from months of displacement and stress. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cI married to escape one hardship, only to find another,/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d she told Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019s sexual and reproductive health agency./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019s centres offer young people gender-based violence response and protection, psychological support, sexual and reproductive health information, hygiene supplies, and awareness-raising sessions to counter the rise of child marriage and early pregnancy. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u00a9 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA Palestine/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//Social Development Forum/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
The war is reversing decades of progress made in reducing child marriage in Gaza: In 2022, registered marriages of girls under age 18 had dropped to 17.9 per cent, from over 28 per cent in 2009. Although data are now scarce as information, legal and health systems have largely been destroyed, case workers report rates are rising steeply./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Yet even these figures are likely an underestimate; many unions won’t be formally registered until later, once services have stabilized, or when the girl has reached legal age or becomes pregnant. All of this leaves girls devoid of legal protection or access to their rights./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Rising rates /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 and risks /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 of adolescent pregnancy/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
In December 2025, almost 10 per cent of newly registered pregnancies were to adolescents, many of whom were malnourished, anaemic and had scarce access to antenatal care./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cI always rejected the idea of marriage. I wanted to succeed in my beauty salon project and build my future,/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d said Hiba* from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, who was married at 16 years old. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cBut the life I dreamed of disappeared. I went through repeated miscarriages within six months. The war took my home, my work, and even my pregnancies./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Only around one quarter of health facilities in Gaza can currently provide emergency obstetric and newborn care, significantly increasing the risk of complications. With barely any supplies allowed into the territory, including sexual and reproductive health essentials, the consequences can be devastating /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 and even lethal./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
For Amal, having a baby was almost inconceivable. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cNow I think about becoming a mother, but I keep wondering how I will feed my child, and whether my body can survive pregnancy and childbirth./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
I went through repeated miscarriages within six months. The war took my home, my work, and even my pregnancies./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 Hiba, 17/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Sutra/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u00a0and the breakdown of protection systems/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA-supported initiatives for young people in Gaza also help girls build leadership skills and participate in youth-led initiatives, empowering them to play an active role in their communities and preserve hope for a better future. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u00a9 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA Palestine/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//Social Development Forum/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
There are also increasing reports of coercion, gender-based violence and severe psychological distress among Gaza/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019s adolescent girls. For many families, marriage provides a form of protection, or sutra, against abuse /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 but it can also carry its own threats, in the form of intimate partner violence, denial of rights and adolescent pregnancy./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
To provide a secure environment where girls can seek immediate and longer-term help, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA currently supports 20 safe spaces, 15 youth hubs and 11 girls/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019 tents across Gaza. These centres offer gender-based violence response and protection, psychological support, sexual and reproductive health information, hygiene supplies, and awareness-raising sessions to counter the rise of child marriage and early pregnancy./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cI agreed to marry at 15 because he had a house, and I thought it would mean safety and stability/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2013 Safa, 16/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Perhaps above all, they are a rare sanctuary where girls can find a sense of normality in the midst of the crisis./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Safa* fled from one shelter to another after her family/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u2019s home in North Gaza was bombed. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cThere was no privacy, no food and no safety,/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d she told Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA at a safe space. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cMy pregnant mother grew weaker every day, and I was also sick from malnutrition. I agreed to marry at 15 because he had a house, and I thought it would mean safety and stability./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
That hope would quickly fade. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cThere was no house, no celebration, only a tent. I felt older than my years, carrying responsibilities that were too heavy for me. Now I am waiting for a child in a damaged room, after everything we lost./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
The majority of schools in Gaza have also been destroyed or repurposed as shelters, meaning the loss of one of the strongest protective factors against child marriage./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cBecause of the war, I was forced to leave school,/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d said Manal*, 17, at a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA-supported safe space. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cToday I sit in one of the shelter schools, living as a wife under a roof of pain, not as a student carrying her books and dreaming of her future./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Adolescent girls find an outlet for self-expression and dress relief through journaling, drawing, handicrafts and dialogue sessions. They also engaged in health and life skills education, including communication, personal hygiene, and the physical and psychological changes of adolescence. /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u00a9 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA Palestine/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848//Save Youth Future Society./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Beyond immediate support, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA-supported initiatives for young people in Gaza help girls build leadership skills and participate in youth-led initiatives, empowering them to play an active role in their communities and preserve hope for a better future./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
Yasmine, a young volunteer said, /unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201cThe girls’ tent is important not just because it focuses on teenage girls, but because it promotes self-care in such tough times. The large turnout and great questions showed how much this support is needed./unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/u201d/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n
*Names changed for privacy and protection/unispal/wp-json/wp/v2/document/315848/n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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