Geographical analysis of early marriage of girls and its negative effects in Kirkuk District in 2024

Girls’ early marriage is one of the most significant human phenomena with a demographic and social impact on populations. It is resulted from the spread of poverty and illiteracy among girls, which leads to the increase of the divorce rates, school dropouts, and family disintegration among families affected by girls’ early marriage. This research aims to clarify the main idea of such cases by identifying their prevalence, determining the age of marriage at (18) years across Iraq, and demonstrating the extent of variation among the units in Kirkuk District. The research focuses on population characteristics and the factors influencing the rise and spread of girls’ early marriage. The research adopts a descriptive and analytical approach to employ deliberate statistical and quantitative methods in tabulating tables and data, making them amenable to analysis, interpretation, and explanation. The researcher uses the program (1.7 Arc GiS10) to represent the research phenomenon and extract its maps with high accuracy and clarity. The research focuses on the problem to determine its causes and uncover the factors contributing to rise girls’ early marriages. A number of factors contributed to its spread, such as high rates of poverty and unemployment for the breadwinner father. This makes families marry underage girls early to relieve the burden of supporting them. In addition, some families’ cultures and customs prevent girls from completing their education and marrying at an early age. During the study,