Argument evidence · Tier 1
18.3% of women 20-24 were married/in union before age 18.
Source
UNFPA — https://www.unfpa.org/GBV-dashboard/countries/PK. Verified in source set / retroactive normalization pending.
What it proves
Child marriage reproduces gender inequality across generations.
Draft — not reviewed
What it does not prove: The indicator is retrospective: it asks women already aged 20-24 about marriages contracted up to a decade earlier, so it describes the past marriage behaviour of one cohort and cannot show whether girls marrying today are marrying later. 'Married or in union' also captures informal unions that never appear in nikah registration data.
Memory hook: 18.3% → nearly one in five women already wed as a minor
Rebuts the claim: 'Child marriage is a vanished rural custom' — nearly a fifth of the current young-adult cohort was married before 18.
Pairs with
Among young women 15-19 in cited evidence, only about 1 in 10 had say over healthcare, major purchases and visits to relUNFPAGirls married early are less likely to complete schooling and face greater domestic-violence and health risks.UNFPA14.5% of ever-partnered women/girls 15-49 experienced physical/sexual IPV in previous 12 months in underlying survey evi (survey evidence)UNFPA