Part 2: Children without fathers’ surnames

Clandestine weddings

According to folk concepts, “buying a buffalo, taking a wife, and building a house” are life’s three major milestones. However, in many highland villages of Điện Biên, marriage still arrives far too early, when brides and grooms are of school age and legally ineligible to register their marriages. Clandestine weddings quietly take place, leaving behind consequences for both the couples and future generations.

On an early afternoon in August 2026, in Cồ Dề village, Xa Dung commune, Lầu A P., an ethnic Hmông born in 2011, sat quietly on his porch recounting his life story. In early 2026, P. married Vàng Thị P. At that time, both were only 14 years old and students at Phì Nhừ Secondary School. From school desks, the young couple entered family life at an extremely tender age. Without wedding invitations, lavish ceremonies, or lively feasts, everything took place quietly because the families understood the children were under the statutory legal marriage age.

Speaking with us, P. admitted feeling a pang of sorrow when thinking about a proper wedding. “I also wished for a wedding like everyone else, with relatives and friends celebrating and with legal recognition. But back then we were underage, so the family could not organize one,” P. said. For a 14-year-old boy, regret stems not only from a missed celebration, but from a family life that began far too early when both were still so young.

Lầu A Vừ, father of Lầu A P., shared: “Because the children were underage, they could not register their marriage. The family did not organize a wedding either, only performing customary rituals according to ethnic tradition to bring them to live together.” That was how a marriage without registration and legal recognition began.

In Tìa Ló village, Pu Nhi commune, Vừ A Ch. and Ly Thị Kh. also started married life from such an informal union. In 2018, when Ch. was only 17 and Kh. was 15, their wedding could not be held like other families due to being underage. There was no marriage certificate, no complete rituals, and no full wedding day joy. Both families merely conducted customary rituals for the young couple to live together.

Many years have passed, and the couple now has three children, the eldest being seven years old. Yet, when recalling their wedding, both cannot hide their lingering regret. For the Hmông ethnic people, a wedding is not only a couple’s joyous day, but an occasion for relatives and villagers to witness and offer blessings. Being unable to hold a proper wedding renders the celebration incomplete for many child-marriage couples.

Such stories across highland villages are not isolated cases. Apprehension over detection and administrative penalties causes these unions to take place quietly and discreetly, devoid of traditional khèn flute music, singing, and community witnessing. A clandestine wedding lasts only moments, but the consequences of that decision can span years, a lifetime, and even the next generation.

According to Cứ A Sếnh, Deputy Head of the Socio-Cultural Division of Pu Nhi commune, limited legal awareness and prevailing customs lead several households to hold quiet, private ceremonies. “Some families know their children are underage but still let them live together. Fearing detection and handling, they do not hold weddings or report to authorities,” Sếnh stated. This presents significant difficulties in preventing child marriage. Clandestine weddings may evade community witnessing and administrative oversight, but they cannot escape the repercussions left behind. When a marriage starts in silence, educational, legal, and future disadvantages can linger for decades.

The “void” that grows with children

Child marriage deprives youths of educational, career, and future opportunities while imposing disadvantages on the next generation. Due to marrying and becoming pregnant at such a young age - when health, knowledge, and financial conditions are inadequate - some face tragedy before childbirth. For children who are born, hardships persist in every aspect.

The story of Giàng A L. (born in 2007) and Thào Thị S. (born in 2012) in Village 3, Sính Phình commune, illustrates the painful consequences of child marriage. In early 2026, after discovering S. was pregnant, the two began living together. At the time, S. was only 14 years old, her body not fully developed, and her knowledge and maternal care conditions limited. The pregnancy progressed unfavorably amid frail health. Ultimately, the infant passed away before taking its first cry. For L. and S., this was not only a profound loss, but a harrowing warning about child marriage.

This dynamic also drives up mortality rates among infants under one year and children under five across the province. Statistics from the Department of Health indicate that in 2025, the neonatal mortality rate in the province stood at 5.0‰ (approximately 5 deaths per 1,000 live births); the under-one mortality rate was 14.9‰ (around 14.9 deaths per 1,000 live births); and the under-five mortality rate reached 20.0‰. In the first five months of 2026, the under-five mortality rate was 19.0‰.

While S.’s case involved loss before birth, for Vừ Thị B. in Tìa Ló village, Pu Nhi commune, anxieties surfaced during child-rearing. Marrying at age 15, B. is now the mother of two children. Her first son is over three years old but cannot yet speak despite multiple clinical examinations. Watching her child grow each day unable to speak like his peers, worries weigh heavily on the young mother.

“I only hope my child learns to speak soon like other children. But I grow more worried each day without knowing what to do,” B. shared. Health and developmental setbacks represent only part of the toll. For unions unrecognized by law, disadvantages are stamped directly onto children’s vital records.

Formerly a 10th-grade student at Keo Lôm Secondary School, in 2025 (at age 15), Lầu Thị Ch. in Chóp Ly village, Na Son commune, got married. Early marriage resulted in legal voids. Because neither Ch. nor her husband was of legal marriage age, the husband did not complete paternity acknowledgement procedures; upon birth registration, the child had to take the mother’s surname while leaving the father’s section blank. A blank line on paper reflects real-world disadvantages the child must endure from birth.

Similarly, Ly Thị X. (born in 2010) in Phù Lồng village, Pu Nhi commune, entered marriage at just 16 years old. When her child was born, the family asked a paternal cousin-uncle to handle birth registration procedures. Consequently, the child bears neither the father’s nor the mother’s surname, but rather the uncle’s surname. “Back then, the family only thought about getting the child a birth certificate with a full name, without thinking much about future legal consequences,” X. shared.

Under the 2014 Law on Civil Status, parents being underage in child marriages does not deprive a child of the right to birth registration; if the father performs statutory paternity acknowledgement procedures, his information can still be recorded on the birth certificate. However, in practice, most families leave children under the mother’s or a relative’s surname, imprinting the mark of a legally incomplete union onto vital records from birth.

Mùa A Dia, a Justice Cadre of Na Son commune, noted that in child marriage cases, birth certificates are almost always registered under the mother’s surname, with the father’s information left blank. Later, upon reaching legal marriage age, families can carry out procedures to supplement or adjust records if desired. In reality, not all families execute these adjustments. Many households leave documents unchanged once life stabilizes, allowing omitted information from adolescent marriages to follow children through later years.

These accounts demonstrate that child marriage is not merely a domestic matter, but an issue generating repercussions for health, education, demographics, and community futures. With these cycles persisting across generations, halting child marriage requires more than communication and mobilization - it demands strong, synchronized resolve. That is why Điện Biên province issued a specialized resolution on preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage, turning this issue into a priority task for the entire political system, from provincial levels down to every village.