Marriage, poverty and inferiority: A qualitative study of the causes and consequences of early marriage among Afghan migrant women in Yazd, Iran

This study investigated the phenomenon of early marriage among Afghan migrant women in Yazd city, Iran. Data were collected using qualitative research method based on interview with 20 participants. The data were analyzed using Grounded Theory approach by employing open, axial, and selective coding and the findings include 13 main and one core categories, which presented in a paradigm model. Findings indicate that early marriage usually occurs in poor families, resulting from the interplay between poverty and gender discrimination. Discriminatory attitudes, women's lack of economic independence, gender division of labor, and unfavorable economic conditions ultimately lead to "lived experience of poverty". Therefore, in a reinforcing cycle, gender inequalities and poverty are aligned, and inequalities are strengthened in all dimensions, reproducing its own social and gender norms which once again reproduce the marriage cycle of poverty and inferiority.