Background: Adolescent girls below the age of 18, pressured by various factors, are the most susceptible beings for early marriage and its consequences. Marriages at this age are either forced or by own interest but influenced by one or many factors. This paper will illustrate the findings of a baseline and mid-term qualitative studies on the Context and Social norms of girls’ marriage, education and nutrition in west harargae, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Methods: Qualitative research methods were conducted for a formative baseline (March to August 2016) and midterm (May 2018 to August 2018) studies. Vignettes were used as a study tool for focus group discussions and separate interview tools were prepared for in-depth and key informant interviews. Focus group participants (n=42 groups) included Unmarried and married adolescent girls, unmarried adolescent boys, parents of adolescent girls. Individual interview participants (n= 52) included married and unmarried adolescent girls, mother in laws and husbands of adolescent girls and finally marriage brokers themselves. Key informant interviews(N=74) included education, health, agriculture, women and child affairs and administration office focal persons, school teachers and directors, women association members and health extension workers.

Results: Adolescent girls below the legal age of marriage are forced to accept marriage proposals convinced by intermediaries. Marriage brokers can be peers, relatives, elders or any skillful people in convincing and persuading girls. Marriage brokerage is commercialized and girls are going through the burdens of early marriage and early child bearing.

Conclusion and recommendations: As findings demonstrate marriage brokerage has become a serious problem in west harargae. Marriage brokers play an inevitable role in arranging potential matches for adolescent girls. Policy makers on ending child marriage and related areas should divert their focus to marriage brokerage and marriage brokers to eliminate the underlying causes.

Keywords: Marriage brokerage, matchmaker, marriage brokers, female reference groups, male reference groups