A new film-led campaign is seeking to challenge the social attitudes that allow child marriage to continue, using storytelling, community screenings and educational tools to reach millions of people across South Asia.
The initiative comes amid a global push to end child marriage by 2030. The United Nations estimates that around 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 every year.
Can a film change attitudes?
The project is built around the idea that changing laws alone may not be enough to end child marriage.
Over eight years of participatory research across Bangladesh, India and Nepal, involving 350 grassroots partners, the team behind the initiative explored how storytelling could challenge deeply rooted beliefs around early marriage.
According to the source material, field testing of a film-driven intervention recorded a 49.4 percentage-point shift in community attitudes, suggesting that visual storytelling could play an important role in changing perceptions.
The campaign now aims to develop a scalable model combining films with school toolkits, community screenings and policy briefings.
The goal is to reach 100 million people
The film project plans to reach up to 100 million people across South Asia, while creating a model that could eventually be adapted for communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Its approach focuses on taking the conversation beyond formal policy and into schools, families and local communities, where attitudes towards early marriage are often shaped.
The need is significant. The source report cites estimates that more than 70 million girls could be at risk of child marriage between 2025 and 2030.
Why social change matters alongside laws
India has laws prohibiting child marriage, yet the practice continues. The report cites research showing that one in five women aged 20 to 24 had married before turning 18, while UNICEF estimates that at least 1.5 million girls below 18 are married in India each year.
Researchers say factors including concerns about girls’ safety, social expectations and dowry practices can influence families’ decisions.
Campaigners therefore argue that lasting change requires communities to question the beliefs that make child marriage seem acceptable.
The film initiative is built around that challenge — using stories that can reach people emotionally, start conversations and encourage communities to imagine a different future for children.