Child Brides - Conclusion

Little woman

Child marriage is a worldwide phenomenon but is most prevalent in Africa and Southern Asia and although its practice has decreased somewhat in recent decades, it remains common in, although not only confined to, rural areas and among the most poverty stricken.

In communities where child marriage is practiced marriage is regarded as a transaction, often representing a significant economic activity for a family. A daughter may be the only commodity a family has left to be traded and sometimes girls can be used as currency or to settle debts. A girl's marriage may also take place as a perceived means of creating stability. In uncertain times, poor harvest conditions or war, a family may believe it is necessary to ensure the economical 'safety' of their daughter and family, through marriage.

Dominant notions of morality and honor are important factors encouraging the practice of child marriage. These are influenced great by the importance placed on maintaining 'family honor' and the high value placed on a girl's virginity. It is considered that shame would be cast on a family if a girl were not a virgin when she marries. Therefore, in order to ensure that a girl's virtue remains in tact, girls may be married earlier, in order to ensure their virginity. Young girls may also be encouraged to marry older men, due to the perception that an older husband will be able to act, as a guardian against behavior deemed immoral and inappropriate.

Tender aged bride

Consequences

Physical: - When a child bride is married she is likely to be forced into sexual activity with her husband, and at an age where the bride is not physically and sexually mature this has severe health consequences.

According to UNFPA (Child Marriage Factsheet, 2005), girls ages l0-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24 and girls aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die. Young mothers face higher risks during pregnancies including complications such as heavy bleeding, obstructed labor, obstetric fistula, infection, anemia, and eclampsia which contribute to higher mortality rates of both mother and child. The age disparity between a child bride and her husband, in addition to her low economic autonomy, further increases a girl's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Psychological and social: - Women who marry early are more likely to suffer abuse and violence, with inevitable psychological as well as physical consequences. The husband’s family as well as the husband himself sometimes perpetrates abuse, and girls that enter families as a bride often become domestic slaves for the in-laws.

Early marriage has also been linked to wife abandonment and increased levels of divorce or separation (UNICEF, Early Marriage: Child, Spouses, 2001) and child brides also face the risk of being widowed by their husbands who are often considerably older. In these instances the wife is likely to suffer additional discrimination as in many cultures divorced, abandoned or widowed women suffer a loss of status, and may be ostracized by society and denied property rights.

Developmental: - Child Marriage also has considerable implications for the social development of child brides, in terms of low levels of education, poor health and lack of agency and personal autonomy.

Large numbers of the girls who drop out of school do so because of early marriage, leaving many women who married early illiterate. Early marriage plans can also discourage a girl's parents from educating their daughter because they believe that a formal education will only benefit her future family in law.

The cyclical nature of early marriage results in a likely low level of education and life skills, increased vulnerability to abuse and poor health, and therefore acute poverty.

What is my destiny?

Solutions/Recommendations

Education: - Improving access to education and eliminating gender gaps in education are therefore important strategies for ending the practice of child marriage. Repeated studies show:

1.     Girls with a secondary education are up to six times less likely to marry young compared to girls with little or no education.

2.     Education delays the age at which a woman marries.

3.     Education provides an alternative opportunity for girls other than marriage.

4.     Education increases socio-economic status and earning potential for girls.

Poverty Reduction: - The world's poorest countries have the highest rates of child marriage. Families often marry girls off to lessen their economic burden and provide a future for their daughters. Data verifies that:

1.     Girls from poor families are about twice as likely to marry young than girls from better-off households.

2.     Girls who earn a wage may be seen as an economic asset, not a burden, by their families.

3.     Girls who earn a wage are less dependent on others to provide for them.

Engaging Men and Boys: - The involvement of men in supporting local women’s rights efforts has been repeatedly cited in research studies as a critical element of the formula for success in advancing women’s initiatives throughout the developing world.

Involving men in education efforts concerning forced marriage is particularly important for changing customary law.

Changing and Enforcing laws: - Changing the laws that govern women’s lives and enforcing them through well developed legal institutions will eliminate the horror of child marriage. In countries where there are statutory laws that protect women, mending gaps between legal institutions and enforcement of the law should be a priority.

Child marriage is a violation of human rights. Unfortunately very few women are aware that they have rights by the simple fact that they are human beings.

The video below is a true story about Aberash Bekele from Ethiopia. It is a narrative of a young Ethiopian girl who refused to get married.  Aberash is paying a high price for the decision she made but her life changed the lives of Ethiopian women forever.

Tribute to Wangari Maathai - Kenya's Best Known Woman

RIP Dr. Wangari Maathai

Last month I posted a series of stories of Dr. Maathai, not knowing that she was in and out of hospital as she battled ovarian cancer.  On Sunday, September 25, 2011 this dynamic woman who inspired many of us young women succumbed to the cancer. Her death is a loss to so many of us who grew up under the oppressive regime of a despot ruler but learnt that we had a voice and could speak in one voice.

I still remember in the 1980s when Dr. Maathai (known to many of us as Mama Wangari or Mum) led hundreds of mostly women to protest Moi's government plans to erect a 62-story headquarters for the then ruling party. I so wanted to join the protests but was too young and my parents would not hear of it. But I raised my voice even then within the family in support of this amazing woman. She fought the then President Daniel Arap Moi fearlessly even as she campaigned for the environment and women's rights in Kenya. 

She taught and encouraged women to plant trees

Her fortitude and passion inspired a generation of Kenyan activist in the 1990s, particularly women, to believe that even though the Kenyan constitution which then considered women as "second class citizens", our voices could bring down a dictatorship. Her fight and unwavering determination succeeded in forcing changes to policies passed down by government official who until then were not accustomed to being questioned. It was this kind of fight which also won her the first Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to an African women, in 2004.

She is not only Kenya's best known woman but also a national hero.

Dr. Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, started in 1977 with the aim of halting widespread deforestation. The organization has grown to become one of the largest grassroots movements in Africa and a vehicle for empowering women. She declared that, "... by protecting the environment, these women are also becoming powerful champions for sustainable management of scarce resources such as water, equitable economic development, good political governance, and ultimately… peace".

She was a woman who embraced and effortlessly lived her authentic self. She was living her destiny and understood her purpose. Her message was clear, her convictions and passions real and overt. She taught, listened and counseled those who were willing and open to learn and grow authentically. Her impact was global.

Mama Wangari's legacy lives on.

Child Brides - Nepal

Nepal is predominately a patriarchal society where women have a much lower status than men. It is the girl children who suffer most from this discriminatory attitude. In a society, which has reportedly the highest rate of son preference in the world, girls are a liability from the time they are born. Sons continue the blood linkage; daughters do not.

The non-status of girl children as complete human beings makes its presence felt in many discriminatory practices within the family. Girls get less medical care and have less access to education and food than their brothers.

Child marriage in Nepal is not a new phenomenon. It is a socially established practice that has been carried on from generation to generation.

Poverty is a critical factor contributing to child marriage and a common reason why parents may encourage a child to marry. Where poverty is acute, a young girl may be regarded as an economic burden and her marriage to a much older - sometimes even elderly - man is believed to benefit the child and her family both financially and socially. However, in some regions of the world like Asia, religion is a significant factor in the continuity of child marriage.

Religion has sanctioned it, and society has ensured its continuity. Child marriage is an institution sanctioned by ancient Hindu laws and devotedly practiced by its followers. In the ancient Hindu scriptures of 400 to 100 BC, there are strict moral laws that enjoin the father to marry off his daughter at a very young age. These religious texts indicate that the best age for a girl to get married is between is 8 and 10.

Child-bride

In the ancient Hindu scriptures of 400 to 100 BC, there are strict moral laws that enjoin the father to marry off his daughter at a very young age. These religious texts indicate that the best age for a girl to get married is between is 8 and 10. Religion has projected marriage and motherhood as the be-all and end-all goal of every woman and there is strong pressure (not only from within the immediate family, but also from community members) to get daughters married as soon as possible. The pressure to maintain caste purity is intense.

The custom of child marriage seems to have been triggered off by the “Brahmin” clan, which is considered the highest caste according to Hindu law. Child marriage was usually understood to mean the marriage of two children, but it also included unmatched marriages. The highly gender discriminative Hindu marriage law permitted the marriage of a very young girl and a very old man. The Hindu puritans also gave full sexual freedom to the men: they could marry as many wives the wanted for pleasure and child rearing, but were very strict with women.

Child marriage is a culturally acceptable tradition in Nepal.

The tradition of child marriage is stronger in Indo-Aryan orthodox Hindu communities such as Parbatia (Bramhins, Chetris, etc.). It is less prominent among the Tibeto-Burman groups, such as the Kirati, Magar, Tamang, Sherpa and other hill/mountain groups. The practice is strongest among the Maithilis living in the Terai (southern plains).

The Nepalese Civil Code of 1963 fixed the legal age for marriage of girls at 16 and made polygamy and child marriage illegal. A girl can marry after the age of 16 years with the consent of her parents or guardians, and at 18 she can marry without their consent. These legal measures, however, are largely ineffective, especially in the rural villages. Almost a quarter of the total districts in Nepal have a mean age at marriage that is below the legal age, and none of the districts is devoid of the incidence of child marriage.

Child marriage is common in practice.

Sources:
Volunteer Aid

Child Brides - Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the Islamic countries where people hold strongly tight to customs and traditions. Breaking the tradition of marrying young children, both boys and girls, is not only difficult, but near impossible in most urban districts.

According to a United Nations’ report, between 60 to 80 percent of marriages in Afghanistan are forced marriages. The report states that the reasons why girls are dragged into forced marriages include repayment of debts, to solve a dispute and to pay family expenses.

Young and scared with no hope of the future

In the rural areas of Afghanistan, girls are mostly married between ages of 7 to 11. It is really rare that a girl reaches the age of 16 and is not married. The customs, traditions and community they live in make it impossible for girls to break free from forced marriages. They do not get ask to speak for self-desire. The fathers in the families mostly decide, as the mothers do not get involved in the decisions, because they are women.

Little bride

In Afghan villages, it's considered dishonorable for families for daughters to meet and date boys. Some parents try to marry their daughters as soon as possible to avoid such a prospect. A lack of security during more than three decades of war, and the risk of kidnapping and rape, has also prompted many families to force their young daughters into marriage. And widespread poverty still compels many parents to get their daughters married to avoid the cost of caring for them.

The Afghan government has taken some steps to tackle the problem. The country has recently changed the legal age for marriage for girls from 16 to 17. Men who want to marry girls under 17 are not entitled to obtain a marriage certificate, although rights activists say many men simply do not bother with officially registering their marriages.

Child Brides - Kenya

In Africa the monetary value of bride price, or bride wealth, is linked with marriage. Bride price is a sum, either in cash or kind, used to purchase a bride for her labour and fertility.


In the context of poverty, the practice of paying bride price can encourage early marriage. Young girls, a resource with which their parents can attain greater wealth, are married off a young age, for the bride price and also as a way for parents to lessen their economic burdens.


Although the legal age of marriage for both women and men in Kenya is 18, about a quarter of Kenyan girls are married before their 18th birthdays, and the number is higher in rural areas. Girls traditionally move to their husbands’ homes, where they often have little status and even less access to information and services related to family planning and reproductive health.

Masai girl-bride

More than 80 percent of married girls ages 15 to 24 in Kenya have given birth. That compares to just a third of sexually active but unmarried Kenyan girls in the same age group. In addition, the earlier a girl gets married, the earlier she has a baby, and early first births are the riskiest for women. In Kenya, the median age at first birth is 16 for girls who are married at 14 or 15, 18 for girls married at 16 or 17, and 19 for girls married at 18 or 19.

Child Brides - Niger

Niger is a developing country. It consistently has one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), currently 167th of 169 countries. In Niger, where early marriage rates approach the highest in the world, only 15 percent of adult women are literate, and fewer than one-third of girls are enrolled in primary school.

A 13-year-old bride who is being married to a 38-year-old man in a village in Niger — in accordance with tradition — stays hidden in a room during the religious and festive part of her marriage ceremony

Breaking out of the tradition to marry young is difficult. These girls do not often receive support from their families to say no to marriage.

Additionally, cultural, economic, and religious aspects of the communities when they live make it nearly impossible for the girls to break free from marrying early. 

In the rural villages of Egypt, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India, and the Middle East, many young girls are rarely allowed out of their homes unless it is to work in the fields or to get married.

These uneducated girls are often married off at the young age of 11. Some families allow girls who are only 7 years old to marry. It is very unusual for a girl to reach the age of 16 and not be married. In Afghanistan, it is believed that between 60 and 80 percent of marriages are forced marriages.

Child Brides -Ethiopia Part 2

Tume Mida - a wife at the age of 10 years.

Tume Mida is 10 years old; her husband, Dida Malicha, is 22.

Tume was born in a village 100 kilometers away from her husband’s home, where she now lives. Despite the distance, their families knew each other because of an earlier marriage. When it was time for Dida to marry, he and his father came to Tume’s family and proposed to one of Tume’s sisters, who was 25.

Both families agreed to the wedding, part of the bride price (through coffee and tobacco) was paid and the date of the ceremony was set. But, when Dida and his father returned to the village some time later they were shocked to discover the bride had married somebody else. Dida’s family was very angry, but agreed to discuss with Tume’s family to find a solution. It turned out Tume was the solution.

10-year-old Tume was offered as a replacement bride. Nothing prevented Dida and his family from looking for another family, but because they already had an agreement with Tume’s family, and had paid part of the bride price, they decided not to look elsewhere.

Dida explained his feelings about Tume’s older sister. “When she refused, I was so angry, I cried a lot. I thought I would not marry at all.” He had no desire to marry the young girl, and started to look for another bride to avoid doing so. But finally, his family calmed him down and convinced him to marry Tume. He resigned himself to marrying her. “My father asked me whether I wanted this girl or if I preferred to ask another from a different family. But it is our culture: if you first propose to a girl of one family, you have to accept to marry another girl from the same family in case it does not work with the first one.”

Dida’s father said that Tume’s reaction to the marriage has been good: “She knows properly why she came to this family and she is happy with it. She is active, she knows everything and is acting as if she were the housewife.”

Asking Tume if she missed her family, she answered, “I don’t think about my family. My family is here, not there.