Beyond closing the doors on childhood, child marriage degrades population quality, increases poverty, fuels illiteracy and social issues, and acts as a major drag on sustainable development. To tackle the root cause of this problem, Điện Biên province has, for the first time, issued a specialized resolution on preventing and combating child marriage and consanguineous marriage. The resolution serves not only as a guiding compass for the actions of the entire political system, but also opens up a journey to “reclaim” youth, opportunities, and the future for teenagers, bringing transformation to the highlands.

Part 1: Sorrowful lullaby on mountains

“A sorrowful lullaby echoes across the vast expanse... / Why marry so early, only to make the lullaby sadder”  -  the lyrics from composer Trần Tiến’s song “Sao em nỡ vội lấy chồng” touch upon a painful reality in Điện Biên province over many years. In highland villages, many young girls pass the threshold of marriage before having a chance to grow up; young boys still of schooling age must shoulder the responsibilities of husbands and fathers. Behind weddings that seem like the start of a family hearth lie truncated childhoods, unfinished dreams, and lives drawn early into the spiral of poverty.

Tender shoulders bearing the burdens of life

In Tìa Ló village, Pu Nhi commune, Vừ Thị B., an ethnic Hmông, is only 18 years old this year but is already a mother of two; the older child is over 3 years old, and the younger is nearly 1. Her husband is also just 20. Sitting beside the hearth, B. cradles her child, gazing silently out into the front yard, her young eyes still carrying the innocence of an age not yet fully matured. Inside the simple wooden house, a faded school backpack still hangs on the wall. There were years when it accompanied B. to class, carrying books and the dreams of her school days. Now, the backpack hangs motionless, silently recalling a student life that ended far too early.

B. hoped to finish grade 12, pursue vocational training, and secure a stable job to support her family. But that dream closed early when she entered marriage in 2023. Today, at age 18, the school drum is replaced by the cries of infants, and textbooks are replaced by housework and anxieties she should not yet have had to bear. “Now seeing my peers go to school, I also want to study again. But having a husband and children now, I can’t anymore,” B. said. That sentence holds not only the regret of a young girl, but also reflects the true cost of child marriage.

B.’s story is not an isolated one. In Keo Lôm village, Na Son commune, Sùng Thị N. (born in 2010) got married in early 2026 and already has a small child. When we arrived, N. was gently rocking a cradle, lulling her baby to sleep. At age 16, N. should still be sitting in a classroom nurturing academic aspirations. Instead of going to class, her days are now consumed by child care, household chores, and heavy thoughts. While talking with us, N. continued to sing a lullaby. With each sway of the cradle, her voice resonated through the small house - vast, adrift, and unsteady just like her own youth. A lullaby is meant to soothe a child to sleep, but in N.’s story, it also seems to carry childhood memories quietly slipping away into the distance.

Behind that sorrowful lullaby was a decision stemming from the emotional impulses of adolescence. N. recounted that when she met and developed feelings for her husband, she did not think much about the future; they simply liked each other and got married. Schooling, employment, or future plans were still far beyond the thoughts of an underage girl. Only after entering married life did specific responsibilities emerge, forcing her to confront a reality she had never fully envisioned.

The stories of B. and N. represent only a cross-section of the child marriage reality in Điện Biên. During the 2021-2025 period, the province recorded nearly 7,000 cases of child marriage out of over 25,000 total married individuals (accounting for about 28%); and 10 cases of consanguineous marriage (about 0.05%). In the first six months of 2026, out of 2,031 individuals marrying across the province, 510 were involved in child marriage, representing 25.1%. Communes with high child marriage rates include: Pú Nhung at 56.3%; Na Son and Tìa Dình at 54.2% each; Sín Chải at nearly 49%; Xa Dung at 44.9%; and Chà Tở at 42.1%.

Behind these figures lies a thought-provoking reality: in many highland villages, residents still view child marriage as a normal, natural part of coming of age. When a wrong practice is repeated long and frequently enough, it easily turns into an entrenched habit, continuously pushing children into adulthood before they have fully matured.

When child marriage is considered “normal”

Điện Biên is home to 19 ethnic groups, among which the Hmông community is the largest (over 38%), living predominantly in remote, isolated areas with difficult socio-economic conditions. This is also the ethnic group with the highest rate of child marriage and consanguineous marriage in the province. According to statistics, among nearly 7,000 child marriage cases during the 2021-2025 period, the Hmông ethnic group accounted for 6,987 cases (89.48%); Thái accounted for 404 cases (6.94%); Khơ Mú had 73 cases (1.25%); and Kinh had 10 cases (0.17%).

Child marriage persists year after year due to mindsets deeply ingrained across generations of highland people. When boys and girls reach ages 15 or 16, they are considered grown up, making marriage seem completely normal. More concerningly, these views are reinforced by the mindset that “parents married early back then too” and “everyone in the village does the same.” When an unlawful act is repeated from generation to generation, from parents to children, it easily becomes a habit and is taken for granted as normal and harmless.

The case of Lò Ngọc H., an ethnic Thái in Mường Mươn village, Mường Pồn commune, is a prime example. H. got married at just 16 years old. At an age when friends were still going to school, she entered married life. Notably, within H.’s own family, marrying at 16 was once considered nothing unusual. H.’s mother also married at 16. A choice from the previous generation thus unintentionally became a precedent for the next.

Quàng Thị Lả, H.’s grandmother, shared: “In the past, girls marrying at 15 or 16 was normal. Back then, many married at that age, so no one thought it was early.” According to her, this mindset has existed across generations, becoming part of the community’s way of thinking. Adults married early, and subsequent generations followed suit.

A seemingly ordinary statement exposes a deeply rooted perspective. When old ways are taken for granted as normal, outdated customs find fertile ground to endure; passing from parents’ words into children’s thoughts, the story of the previous generation gradually becomes the mindset of the next. Child marriage thus stems not only from a lack of legal knowledge, but more alarmingly, from an unlawful act being tacitly accepted by the community. For H., that marriage was not merely her own choice, but the result of a mindset that has existed for years, quietly repeating across generations.

This sense of “normality” exists not only in individual households, but is also reflected across highland medical facilities, where underage marriages followed by early pregnancies and childbirths are no longer rare. Currently, Điện Biên Đông Medical Center provides examination and treatment for residents across 6 communes of the former Điện Biên Đông district. Statistics from the first six months of the year show that out of 110 deliveries at the center, 55 cases involved child marriage.

Doctor Vừ A Câu, Deputy Director of Điện Biên Đông Medical Center, stated that child marriage remains relatively common locally, with many coming for examinations and childbirth at a very young age. Remarkably, for a portion of the population, early marriage among youth is still seen as nothing out of the ordinary because “many people in the village do the same.” When a perception becomes a community habit, warnings about health, education, or children’s futures struggle to alter mindsets.

Changing a habit ingrained over generations is no easy feat. Behind this sense of “normality” lies a vicious cycle: child marriage causes school dropouts, reduces vocational and employment opportunities, and limits stable income; family burdens prevent youth from escaping poverty. Poverty, in turn, narrows educational opportunities for the next generation, perpetuating the cycle of child marriage. The consequences do not stop with the bride and groom, but set off a new cycle the moment a child is born.