World: UN Women statement for the International Day of the Girl 2026

Country: World Source: UN Women Globally, one in five girls is married before the age of 18. Every year, more than 12 million girls are married in childhood, roughly one every three seconds. Behind every statistic is a girl whose education, health, safety, choices, and future are put at risk. Child marriage is preventable. And progress is possible. Over the past 25 years, investments in girls’ education, legal reform, and social protection have helped avert an estimated 68 million child marriage