Lived Experiences of Early Married Girls in Chongwe and Rufunsa Districts of Zambia: A Phenomenological Study

Early marriage remains a significant social and psychosocial concern in Zambia, particularly where poverty, limited educational opportunities, adolescent pregnancy, and gendered expectations intersect. This study explored the lived experiences of young women who entered marriage before the age of 18 in Chongwe and Rufunsa Districts of Zambia. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Thirty young women aged 15–24 years were targeted, with 15 participants from each district; 22 participated, comprising 12 from Chongwe and 10 from Rufunsa. Participants were purposively selected because they had direct experience of marriage before age 18. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed through thematic analysis supported by NVivo 12. The analysis generated themes concerning drivers of early marriage, psychological experiences, emotional experiences, social autonomy, and family decision-making. Poverty, limited educational opportunity, early pregnancy, and family expectations concerning girls’ sexuality emerged as important drivers. Participants described low self-esteem, inadequate emotional support, reduced independence, and limited participation in marital and educational decisions. Parents and guardians were frequently perceived as having substantial influence over decisions concerning marriage. Bronfenbrenner’s Social Ecological Theory was used to interpret how individual experiences were connected to family, community, cultural, and structural contexts. The study concludes that early marriage is a multidimensional lived experience affecting autonomy, emotional well-being, education, and future opportunities. Because the evidence derives from two districts, the findings are interpreted as context-specific rather than nationally representative. The study recommends integrated interventions combining legal protection, poverty reduction, educational support, community norm change, and culturally responsive psychosocial services.

: Child Marriage, Early Marriage, Lived Experiences, Phenomenology, Psychosocial Well-Being, Zambia

1. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Erulkar, A. (2013). Early marriage, marital relations and intimate partner violence in Ethiopia. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 39(1), 6–13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Kidman, R. (2017). Child marriage and intimate partner violence: A comparative study of 34 countries. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(2), 662–675. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw225 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Parsons, J., Edmeades, J., Kes, A., Petroni, S., Sexton, M., & Wodon, Q. (2015). Economic impacts of child marriage: A review of the literature. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 13(3), 12–22. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Raj, A. (2010). When empowerment fails: Love and marriage in rural India. Social Science & Medicine, 70(10), 1497–1504. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. UNICEF. (2025). Global Programme on Ending Child Marriage in Zambia 2024 report. UNICEF Zambia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. UNICEF. (2025). An assessment of gendered social norms and their relationship to child marriage and adolescent pregnancy in Zambia. UNICEF Zambia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. UNICEF. (2024). Child marriage data. UNICEF Data. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Wodon, Q., Male, C., Nayihouba, A., Onagoruwa, A., Savadogo, A., Yedan, A., Edmeades, J., Kes, A., John, N., Murithi, L., Nguyen, H., & Petroni, S. (2017). Economic impacts of child marriage: Global synthesis report. World Bank and International Center for Research on Women. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Zambia Statistics Agency, Ministry of Health, Zambia, & ICF. (2020). Zambia demographic and health survey 2018. Zambia Statistics Agency and ICF. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]