Rural-Urban Differences in Teenage Marriage and High School Dropout of Girls in Iran

Teenage marriage is an important and key determinant of high school dropout of girls. This article using quantitative and qualitative data, explores the drivers and reasons for girls drop out of school, with an emphasis on the role of early marriage. In the quantitative section, the secondary analysis of the micro-census data for 2016 and in the qualitative part, in-depth interview and ethnographic approach in Shahnabad region of Lorestan province have been used. The results showed that the prevalence of school dropout among 15-17-year-old girls in rural areas is about three times that of urban areas. A large part of rural-urban differences in girls drop out of school is due to the higher prevalence of teenage marriage in rural areas. Logistic regression analysis showed that married girls are more likely to drop out of school than never-married girls. The results of the qualitative data also showed several factors such as family factors (escape from a disordered family, parents' addiction, parents' lack of attention to girls' education and parents' authority and strictness), economic (poverty and deprivation), social (fear of remaining single, peer influence and gender inequality) and cultural (preserving reputation, escape from social pressures and lack of access to educational centers) are important drivers of teenage marriage and school dropout of rural girls.