From my perspective, to end child marriage, we need a combination of education, economic empowerment, stronger local enforcement, community engagement and so on.

It’s a really slow process but progress is being made in many countries today.

Unfortunately, the UN cannot simply impose a law because each country is sovereign. However, the UN does have conventions like “the convention on the rights of a child,” which most countries have signed. The problem isn’t the laws in place, instead, it is the enforcement of these laws. Many countries have domestic laws that override these conventions and treaties.

Child marriage isn’t limited to Nothern Nigeria or parts of Africa, it happens in South Asia, and even some communities in Europe. Child marriage is a global issue. It’s just the scale that varies.