Early Child Marriage- A Threat to Girl Child Education

Child marriage or similar union, formal or informal, is a marriage between a child and an adult or another child under a certain age, typically age eighteen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage), some may argue that child marriages have been in existence as long as man has roamed the earth. The history books also show a correlation to this thought. It has been recorded that in the medieval times, the marriage of girls under the ages of 15 years was a norm. Of such historical books is the Halakha (collective body of Jewish religious laws) which describes a ‘minor’ as a girl below 12 years and a day. A girl aged twelve and a half was already considered an adult in all respects. Child marriage was not solely for girls, although in many societies in the ancient and medieval times it was that boys are expected to reach majority and obtain some wealth before wedding younger women or girls. In ancient Greece, boys were also expected to get married in their teens.

A child marriage is closely associated with no or low levels of schooling for girls. In West and Central Africa, girls with three or fewer years of schooling are five times more likely than girls with eight or more years of schooling to marry before age 18. Poverty leads many families to withdraw their daughters from school and arrange marriage for them at a young age. These girls are denied the proven benefits of education, which include improved health, lower fertility, and increased economic productivity.

Despite child marriage having been a norm in most places around the world during the ancient and medieval times, most of the developed world has set strict age restrictions when it comes to marriage. Whereas in most developing countries like African, South American and Asian countries, child marriage is still highly and actively practiced.

The high numbers of child brides in these regions according to UNICEF is as a result of some factors such as poverty and living in rural areas, and this holds true in West Africa. For all the centuries that child marriage has been in existence, the financial relieve it brings to the families of these children has been an underlying factor.

Amongst all the West African countries plagued with child marriage, Nigeria accounts for 40 percent of the total child brides, owing to the countries large population. Amongst these child brides in Nigeria, there is a disparity seen between the wealthy and the poor. With about 80 percent of girls born into the poorest families in Nigeria being married of before their 18^th birthdays according to UNICEF, this further cements the connection between poverty and child marriages.

According to The World Bank, Girls often get married because of pressure from parents and relatives, poverty and lack of alternatives. Limited access to quality education and families’ prioritization of boys’ rather than girls’ education–in part because of limited job opportunities–contribute to perpetuate the practice. Other causes of child marriage are insecurity and tradition.

Child marriage has been beneficial to the families of these children, but what about the young girls and boys who are at the center of the entire arrangement, how does this affect them? In as much as some parents believe that giving out their children at a young age for marriage, will improve their chances of attaining a better life and future. Girls who are in this union in most cases are rubbed of their childhood, their education, are at a greater risks of failed pregnancies and injuries as a result of these early pregnancies, domestic violence and in worst cases death.

In the past decade, girls and young women – especially those from the poorest households – have faced unequal opportunities for educational access compared to boys and young men with only about 70% of countries attaining gender parity in secondary education worldwide (UNICEF 2014). Both Sub-Saharan Africa and South west Asia is the regions with the highest percentage in gender disparity. Sub-Saharan African has the highest number of countries with gender disparities in education with 60% of the total worldwide number (UNESCO 2014).

A lot of factors have been put forward to explain the gender disparities between girl child education and male child education and amongst them, all poverty and socio-cultural norms are the most crucial. In the case of socio-cultural norms, young girls in many cultures are expected to marry at a young age in many cultures and religions. In addition, in connection with poverty, the influence of socio-cultural norms (child marriage in particular) on educational exclusion becomes more intense.

An instance is In the Amhara region of Ethiopia, 30 percent of girls who were not in school said that the primary reason was marriage. This is because, after marriage, young girls’ access to formal and even non-formal education is severely limited because of domestic burdens, childbearing and social norms that view marriage and schooling as incompatible.

The effect of early child marriage can be clearly seen in the following comparisons, gotten on a research conducted in a few countries around the world;

In Nicaragua, 45 percent of girls with no education are married before they turn 18, compared to 28 percent of girls with primary education, 16 percent of girls with a secondary education and 5 percent of girls with higher education.

In Mozambique, some 60 percent of girls with no education are married by 18, compared to 10 percent of girls with secondary schooling and less than 1 percent of girls with higher education.

In Senegal, 41 percent of girls with no education are married as children, whereas only 14 percent of girls with a primary education marry as children.

The above statistics shows the influence of children marriage on the level of education attained by young girls. Therefore, this highlights the importance of education in the fight against early child marriage worldwide.

A UNICEF report on the prevalence of child marriage in central and West Africa shows a decline in the number of child brides over the years. Although there is a disparity in the decline with countries like The Gambia and Gabon showing the highest levels of decline. On the other hand countries like Chad show a slower decline. It is estimated that by 2050, giving the growing population in the region, the number of child brides will be at 20.8 million if the current prevalence persists. It is estimated that if the current rate of decline persists, there will be about 17.5 million child brides in 2050. A doubling of efforts to increase the decline rate will leave the estimate of child brides in the region in 2050 at 14.8 million.

The various efforts that have been put into the potential eradication of child marriages include; global advocacy that ensure the challenge of child marriage is placed as a national, regional and continental priority, investing in improving the education and health of young people, particularly young girls, Scale up evidence-based models that work in addressing population dynamics.

Making education affordable and available to the girl child has shown in many countries and regions of the world not just in reducing the rate of early child marriage as the statistics suggests, but it has led to tremendous growth in developed and developing countries.

As stated in the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 Framework Document: The Africa We Want, “The continent cannot meet its ambitious goals under Agenda 2063 while it limits a dynamic segment of its society, which women represent, from realizing its full potential. Investing in women and girls and their integration into the labor market, alongside delayed marriage and child bearing, and expanded access to education for girls, family planning, and sexual and reproductive health rights, has been attributed as the driving forces behind the economic successes of the Asian tigers”. The AU Agenda 2023 is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future.

Educating a girl-child empowers her to make informed decisions about her life. Access to information on prenatal care, hygiene, and nutrition made available to them, plays a significant role in reducing the risk of child and maternal mortality and deaths of children.

Remarkably, the chances of girls marrying underage decline with each stage of education, as those in school are more likely to get married much later after they conclude their education. This also reduces the risk of maternal and child deaths.

We must remember that, an effort to educate a girl-child is an equal effort to reduce maternal and child mortality in societies.

What Can Be Done To Stop Early Child Marriage?

Encourage state-level authorities to adopt the federal law that establishes 18 as the legal age of marriage for girls.
Engage communities through public campaigns, pledges, or incentive schemes.
Raise the awareness of parents, community leaders, and policymakers about the health and rights implications of young girls marrying much older men.
Develop special social and health support structures for young, first-time mothers.
Encourage governments and communities to commit to getting girls to school on time and to keeping them in school through the secondary level. Being in school during adolescence has important health and development benefits for girls.
Develop social and economic programs for out-of-school girls, including non-formal education programs.

Article authored by Teamcoby-Nigeria, a social enterprise focused on advocacy, grassroots community mobilization and engagement through projects that cuts across education, health, environment and livelihood support in low income communities.

We currently advocate and champions sustainable menstruation and hygiene management and produce Eco Reusable Menstrual Pad to fight period poverty, reduce menstrual inequality, reduce the undue financial burden that girls and women bear due to menstruation and also address the environmental/plastic pollution, associated with disposable sanitary pads, a major climate change crisis globally.