Child Marriage: its consequences on young people

 

Child marriage, referring to a marriage of a young person less than 18 years is still widely practiced in many parts of the World and predominantly affects girls. It is estimated that, if nothing changes, a 100 million young girls aged 15 years or less will be married within the present decade.

In Africa, Nigeria precisely, the practice of child marriage is deeply entrenched in tradition, culture and religion and the country has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with estimated 42% of girls married before 18 years; and while this is found among many ethnic groups across the country, its predominance is clearly in the Northern part of the country, according to research.

The reasons for child marriage are based on a mix of cultural, social, economic and religious factors. Poverty is observed to be at the core of decisions and practices related to early marriage, more in low-income societies than in their high-income counterparts, as they lack resources to support healthy alternatives for girls, such as prolonged schooling and skill acquisition to secure their future.

The girls in turn have higher chances of being poor and remaining poor and of facing serious social and health consequences inimical to their personal growth and development.

A prominent researcher makes it clear that the widespread practice of child marriage makes it increasingly difficult for families to escape poverty in the developing world, thereby undermining critical international efforts to fight poverty, HIV/AIDS and other development challenges, and making huge investments in development assistance less effective. It is therefore very costly in terms of the consequences for these societies.

Girls who marry early are more likely to experience abuse and violence than others, with inevitable psychological as well as physical consequences.

Most Studies on the subject matter indicate that women who marry at young ages are more likely to believe the justification for wife battering as a corrective measure and therefore acceptable for a husband to do so and are therefore more likely to experience and accept domestic violence themselves.

Child marriage for girls often means a confinement to a helpless lifetime of domestic and sexual subservience.

Child marriage is widely and globally regarded as a surviving form of social discrimination and is challenged by the Nigerian constitution and several human rights laws. In the last Century, particularly, intense global opposition to child marriage has deepened and the concerns are expressed in various conventions and charters.

According to research, Under the Nigerian Law, the concept of the child is based exclusively on calendar age. The legal age at marriage is 21 years and anyone under this age is considered a minor and would require a parental consent before legally entering into a marriage in the country.

The rights of the girl-child in Nigeria are protected by a legal framework, including national laws and international and regional conventions which the country has ratified.

The persistence of the practice of child marriage has been linked to lack of sufficient political will to engage the problem. In many countries, and despite the ratification of the international treaties and agreements, existing laws against child marriage are not enforced or upheld and sanctions are either not clearly spelt out or enforced at all.

There is an urgent need to focus and cause change on the cultural traps to which the practice of child marriage has confined our little ones in Africa and other parts of the world, through renewed commitment to compulsory education beyond primary school level for girls, enforcement of legislation and commitments to uphold the fundamental rights of the child.

 In particular, men, in their capacity as fathers, community and religious leaders must be targeted for change, given their roles as custodians of tradition and decision-makers on marriage and family matters.

The aforementioned subject is brought to you, courtesy of National Mail.

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