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In its Nigerian Girl Report 2021, a humanitarian organisation, Save the Children International, reiterated the fact that Nigeria has the highest rate of child marriage in the world. According to the report, 44 per cent of girls in Nigeria marry before attaining the age of 18. In northern Nigeria, 78 per cent of girls marry before the age of 18, while 48 per cent of girls, especially in North West and North East, marry by the age of 15. Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 12 million girls are married before age 18 each year.
The Country Director, Save the Children International, Nigeria, Mercy Gichuhi, lamented this phenomenon. She noted that “Child Early Forced Marriage (CEFM) is a human rights violation and a form of gender-based violence, GBV, that robs children of their ability to make decisions about their lives, disrupts their education, subject them to become more vulnerable to violence and discrimination, and prevents their full participation in economic, political and social spheres.”
One of the major factors responsible for the problem is poverty. sWhen people are poor, they can do anything, including giving out their children in marriage, to survive. In Nigeria, the poverty rate in the North is high. That may explain the highest prevalence of child marriage in that region. North East and North West topped the list. They are quickly followed by the North Central, South West and South South respectively. South East has the lowest prevalence rate. The advent of COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant lockdown exacerbated poverty and helped to push many young girls into early marriage. The unlucky ones suffered gang rape and other sexual violence and death.
Poor access to education is another debilitating factor. Again, northern Nigeria lags behind in this aspect. The majority of Nigeria’s over 13 million out-of-school children are in the North. More than half of these children are girls. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) adds that over 1.3 million Nigerian girls drop out before reaching the last year of lower secondary school every year. While out of school, these girls could become victims of early marriage or even rape and ritual killings.
In some societies, ignorance and false beliefs play a part. For instance, some people believe that early marriage prevents daughters from becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Thus, some parents give out their teenage daughters so that they don’t bring shame to their families.
Consequently, the health of these girls is seriously affected. There are reports that child marriage kills over 60 girls daily globally. Many of those who survive it suffer mental and physical torture in their matrimonial homes. In the North, there is the prevalence of the Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) among many of these young girls. According to the United Nations, VVF is the leading cause of death for girls between the ages of 15 and 19 in developing countries.
One of the ways to curb the menace is to educate the girl-child. When a child is educated, she knows her rights better and can determine who to marry at the right time. We commend the governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, who made education a priority in his state’s 2022 budget. Out of the N188 billion budget, education gets N37 billion or 20 per cent. Interestingly, a large chunk of it is for girls’ education. Governments at all levels must enforce the implementation of the Universal Basic Education Act with girls’ education as a top priority.
There is also need for more enlightenment on the dangers of child marriage. Government agencies, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups, traditional and religious leaders should be at the forefront of the awareness campaign. Political leaders in the North should play a role in this regard. There is a lot of hypocrisy going on because many of the elite families do not allow their children to marry early. Some of them send their children to schools abroad.
There is also the need to enforce the Child Rights Act of 2003 in Nigeria. The Act discourages child marriage and sets the national legal minimum age of marriage at 18 years. But not all states have domesticated it. We encourage any state that has not domesticated it to do so.
We also need to adhere to the dictates of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which Nigeria is a signatory to; and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the World Conference on Women in 1995. The major aim of the Platform for Action is to eradicate all forms of discrimination, violence and negative cultural practices against girls. We also need to adopt strategies to empower the girl-child and effect changes in the cultural and social norms that inhibit her progress.
