Key Social Norms Take-aways Norms around early marriage, female purity, and high fertility drive child marriage. These expectations are upheld by stigma and reinforced through broader social systems. Interventions must engage communities, including leaders, and address linked norms and economic pressures.

Objectives This study explored how social norms and contextual factors sustain child marriage among nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralist communities in Wajir and Mandera counties, Kenya. It focused on understanding how gender norms and expectations around fertility shape marriage decisions.

Methods Researchers conducted 48 in-depth interviews with men and women aged 15–49 from four pastoralist communities. Data were analyzed thematically using a mix of inductive and deductive approaches, guided by social norms theory. Vignettes and direct questions helped explore both descriptive and injunctive norms related to marriage.

Results Child marriage was widely accepted. Three key gender norms reinforced the practice: girls should marry early, remain virgins until marriage, and bear many children. Girls who delayed marriage were stigmatized, as were their families. Despite new forms of partner selection, marriage age remained low.

Conclusions Awareness of the harms of child marriage exists, but deeply rooted gender norms and structural barriers like poverty and low educational access continue to sustain the practice.