Many became mothers at a young age and have minimal agency in their lives, including in their sexual and reproductive choices. “Girls are entering child marriage for many different reasons, and then they are choosing where possible to leave it. Here, marriage this young is common, she says, despite child marriage laws in place since 1929. “The routes into child marriage or unions are different,” says Plan International’s Birchell. Without enforcement, accountability, and broader social change, child marriage persists in practice,” she explains.