Why girls drop out: the link between early marriage and education gaps

30/01/26

Blog

9

In India, education has long been understood as a panacea for social inequality, poverty, and gender imbalance. Yet, when we examine why adolescent girls drop out of school, early marriage is more than a footnote. It is often the root cause of the many problems of girl child education in India.

Early marriage changes social expectations overnight. A girl who previously spent her mornings in classrooms, afternoons studying at home, suddenly becomes someone whose “first duty” is now seen as home, family, and domestic management. Given entrenched gender roles, the workload of domestic chores, caregiving, and household responsibilities leaves little room for syllabus, textbooks or examinations. In many cases, after marriage comes early motherhood, childcare, and domestic work — all of which let formal education slip out of reach.

Below are strategies and programmes that have shown promise in addressing the problems of girl child education in India and help communities say no to child marriage:

• The legal ban on child marriage (marriage under 18 for girls) remains critical. Definitions and enforcement of laws signal national commitment. That provides a baseline — a societal assertion that childhood ends with adulthood and that early marriage is unacceptable.
• Incentivising girls’ continued education through scholarships, cash transfers, and conditional benefits tied to staying unmarried and enrolled. When families see tangible benefits in delaying marriage, the logic behind early marriage weakens.
• Improving school infrastructure: building local schools so girls do not have to travel long distances; ensuring safe transport; ensuring WASH facilities (especially toilets, sanitation) that respect girls’ privacy and dignity. These used to often get overlooked in policy; they have been found to matter enormously to whether a girl — especially post-puberty — stays enrolled. Social norms about modesty, safety, and family reluctance to send older girls far to school also play a role; good infrastructure helps counter that.
• Educating families — not just girls — about the benefits of girls’ education: for the girl, for her future children, for the family’s economic future. When parents see education not just as a cost but as a long-term investment, priorities shift.
• Engaging community leaders, religious leaders, and local influencers — who shape norms. Their endorsement of delaying marriage, promoting education for girls, and giving examples of educated women succeeding — changes social expectations faster than government directives ever can.
• Creating safe peer networks, “girl-only” groups, adolescent support circles — spaces where girls can say no to early marriage, get support, plan for future education or livelihood. These build resilience when family pressure mounts. Research on effective interventions points out that peer networks, safe spaces, and supportive adult mentors are among the most effective against early marriage.

Where efforts have been among the most successful, they are not isolated campaigns — they integrate legal enforcement, educational support, social mobilisation, community engagement, and monitoring. This integrated logic makes sense. Early marriage and dropout are rarely caused by a single factor. Poverty, lack of opportunity, gender norms, insecurity, and limited schooling infrastructure — all intersect. So solutions that address only one dimension tend to only scrape the surface. To make a sustained dent, coordinated action is needed: policy and law, strengthened schooling, economic incentives, social norm change — especially among parents, community leaders, and boys/men too.

To address dropout risk linked to early marriage, multiple Indian states have built community-signalling programmes that shift household expectations before the marriage timeline begins. These programmes standardise one message: education is a long-term family asset. They operate through local influencers, structured incentives, and clear escalation pathways. Many Indian states have trained cadre groups—anganwadi workers, school management committee members, frontline health workers—to deliver targeted messages during household visits.

Bal Raksha Bharat, a child NGO in India, actively fights early marriage through a multi-pronged approach focusing on awareness, empowerment, legal support, and community engagement. Powered by people and organisations who donate for girl child education, it offers technical support for state strategies and action plans on child marriage prevention. The child protection cadre of this child NGO in India actively facilitates reporting early marriage cases and linking children to government social protection schemes and child helplines like 1098. Their efforts to say no to child marriage align with national missions like the National Plan of Action for Children and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, working toward a society where children, especially girls, can complete their education and develop safely without the threat of early marriage.

Naveen Kumar

“Naveen is an SEO expert and digital marketing analyst at Bal Raksha Bharat with a passion for helping businesses grow online. With a data-driven approach, he specializes in boosting search rankings, driving traffic, and optimizing digital strategies. Follow for tips on SEO, content, and marketing trends."