Measuring Social Norms Related to Child Marriage Among Adult Decision-Makers of Young Girls in Phalombe and Thyolo, Malawi.
Outcomes: Child, Early, and Forced Marriage
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-Aways Boys were influenced by norms portraying them as both threats to and protectors of girls’ reputations. While some adopted more equitable attitudes, their behaviors remained shaped by dominant masculinity and family honor norms. Interventions must go beyond individual change to engage peer networks and broader community structures in shifting power and transforming gender norms.
Objectives This study explored adolescent boys’ beliefs, attitudes, and roles in shaping girls’ education and early marriage outcomes in Southern India. It examined how boys internalize or challenge gender norms following participation in a multi-level intervention.
Methods Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 20 adolescent boys from villages that had participated in the Samata intervention. Using a thematic analysis framework grounded in social and gender norms theory, the study examined how boys engaged with topics such as girls’ education, marriage, teasing, and public communication.
Intervention Details The Samata intervention (2013–2017) aimed to reduce school dropout and child marriage among marginalized girls in Northern Karnataka. Though the primary focus was girls, the intervention included a mentorship module for boys, adapted from ICRW’s Parivartan program. This included sports, classroom discussions, and community action to shift attitudes about gender roles and promote support for girls’ education and rights. Some boys became peer leaders and participated in school campaigns and advocacy.
Results Many boys expressed support for girls’ education and delayed marriage, believing it improved family status and girls’ future well-being. Some reported helping with household chores, encouraging school attendance, or challenging teasing. However, this support was often conditional on girls maintaining “respectability” and enhancing their marriageability. Boys maintained decision-making power and often saw themselves as gatekeepers of girls’ reputations. Communication between girls and boys was heavily stigmatized. Despite attitude shifts, boys struggled to influence family or community decisions without adult or collective support.
Conclusions The intervention encouraged some shifts in boys’ reflections and behaviors, but persistent gender norms—particularly around control, protection, and girls’ honor—limited deeper change. Support for girls’ rights was filtered through existing gender hierarchies.
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