The practice is most prevalent in the predominantly muslim north where conservative islamic groups staunchly resist efforts to criminalize. Child marriage is most common in rural areas 100 80 50 10 90 60 20 70 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 rural urban child marriage is more common in rural areas child marriage is more common in urban areas togo suriname ghana guyana peru senegal nigeria 15. However, the involvement of the girl child in this infamous activity is specifically common in northern nigeria today, particularly in wudil local government of kano state. Apr 01, 2018 the countrys 2003 child rights act says that people must be at least 18 years old to marry. A qualitative assessment of the effects of child marriage on female. Child spacing attitudes in northern nigeria april 2008 part i. Cultural norms in northern nigeria associate a girls virginity with family honor and suggest early marriages prevent sexual assault, outofwedlock pregnancies and family dishonor. Child marriage briefing nigeria population council. Aug 01, 2020 even before the impact of the covid 19 pandemic, the crisis in northeast nigeria is one of the most severe in the world today. Nigeria has undergone fierce constitutional battles to establish a minimum age for marriage. The child rights act, passed in 2003, raised the minimum age. The majority of girls in the north experience first sex in.
Nigeria, with 30 per cent of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 reported to have experienced sexual abuse. Mar 22, 2018 the federal 2003 child rights act mandates that both parties be at least 18 to marry, but its left for states to ratify the act and most of the states in northern nigeria have not. Section 61 of part 1 of the 1999 constitution and the protection of children against child marriage 2014 14 african human rights law journal 474. The legal, medical and social implications of child marriage in. In northern nigeria where the practice is prevalent, the impact is more on girls as many of them marry early in their large numbers and with more intensity. Pdf changing dynamics of early marriage in rural areas of. It is based on the premise of a coordination platform led by the federal ministry of women affairs and social development and cochaired by save the children. But individual states can decide whether to approve the law. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child. Aug 28, 2015 in some cultures such as in the northern parts of nigeria women have little or no say in their marital lives as a result of the age old culture of forced child marriages and betrothal from birth. Jun 23, 2016 therefore, she is giving out for marriage at a tender age ranging from 1215, early marriage and making her a baby factor machine and also contacting vesico vaginal fistula vvf. According to the british council in nigeria, more than half of nigerian women in the north are married by the age of. Resistance continues to ending child marriage in northern. Existing laws against child marriage should be enforced, especially when girls at risk of child marriage, or who are already married, seek protection and justice.
Jul 15, 2010 help bring down perceptibly forced child marriage rates over the next few years. Resistance to ending child marriage continues in northern nigeria. Apart from its micro consequences on fertility, health, and wellbeing, child marriage has farreaching. Oct 10, 2014 child marriage and education in nigeria according to the unesco 2014 education for all global monitoring report, nigeria has more primary school children out of school than any other country in the world 10. Early marriage is a traditional practice that may predisposes girls to sexual relationship and early. Early marriage and girl child education in northern nigeria the prevailing research works conducted on this problem and mostly emanating from the north reveal that early marriage impedes young girls education. The proportions of married teenagers are much higher in the northern regions being highest in the north west and north east regions where the proportions of married teenage girls 1519 are 73% and 59% respectively 2003. Insights into early marriage and girls education in northern. The prevalence of child marriage increases as one moves from south to northern nigeria. Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child and an adult or another child under a certain age, typically age eighteen. The vast majority of child marriages are between a girl and a man, and are rooted in gender inequality. Pdf the paper examines the socioeconomic effect of early marriage in north western nigeria using zaria local government as a case study. Nigeria, particularly northern nigeria, has some of the highest rates of early marriage in the world. Dec 18, 20 council found that, in nigeria, husbands of child brides were, on average, 12 years older than their wives, and 18 years older in cases of polygynous marriage population council 21 dec.
In nigeria, child marriage is endemic in the north, especially in the northeast geopolitical zones with over 45 per cent of teenage marriages and the highest level of female illiteracy in the country. However, federal law may be implemented differently at the state level, and to date, only a few of. The nigerian schoolgirls fighting against child marriage cnn. Child marriage is common in nigeria, with 43% of girls being married before their 18th birthday, and 17% before they turn 15. Mar 22, 2018 nigeria has the largest number of child brides in africa. Northeast nigeria rapid gender analysis covid19 nigeria. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child marriage. The national strategic plan to end child marriage in nigeria 20162021 aims to highlight the multisectoral, multifaceted activities needed to end child marriage in nigeria.
Resistance continues to ending child marriage in northern nigeria. Barriers to girl child education in nigeria especially in the north have been identified as poverty, early marriage, cultural and religious misconceptions as well as teenage pregnancy williams, 1960. The nigerian constitution recognizes sharia law, and so islamic and customary marriages are common in the north, immune to the prohibition on child marriage as. The menace in nigeria, most especially in the northern region of the country, has become a noted phenomenon and has affected and claimed several childrens lives. This cuts across every section of the society including gender. Child, early, and forced marriage and psychological trauma of girls in. Building resilience and resistance to child, early, and. Child marriage in nigeria and girl child labour in nigeria according to the u.
The article presents arguments outlining the reluctance of some of nigerias northern states to enact the act. Dec 05, 2020 child marriage is a common practice in the northwestern and eastern parts of nigeria, with 68% and 57% of women between ages 2049 were married before their 18th birthday girls not brides, 2020. Nigeria s high fertility rate is causing socioeconomic problems and fueling underdevelopment. The proportions of married teenagers are much higher in the northern regions being highest in the north west and north east regions where the proportions of married teenage girls 1519 are 73%. Marriage before the age of 18 is a fundamental violation of human rights. Jul 27, 20 the african charter on the rights and welfare of the child,1990,article xxi, states that child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited and effective actions, including.
To a great extent the reason for the rampancy of child marriage in nigeria can be accredited to the fact that sharia law as well as the custom of the northerners endorse this practice. The prevalence of child marriage above the national average is virtually the norm in the northern part as one in three wra married before the age 15 in borno, kaduna, kebbi and the gombe states. The experience of married adolescent girls in northern nigeria. All too often, the imposition of a marriage partner upon a child means that a girl or. Department of labor, 31% of nigerian children around 14,000,000 children aged 5 to 14 years old are working children who engage in forced labor in various sectors.
There are however a contrary perspective by other muslims who argue that a girl child should attain puberty and emotional maturity before marriage 35. Early marriage, cohabitation, and childbearing in west africa. The median age at first sex for girls in southern regions is in the late teens. The author maintains that the right of the girl child in. Nationwide, 19% of girls were married by age 15, and 43% by age 182 2003, ndhs. Early marriage forces girls into adulthood before they are emotionally and physically matured, leading to a range of harmful effects on their health, education, economic and social development. In the north, parents deliberately keep their daughters out of school because investing. Some as young as 8 or 9 are forced to trade their childhoods for a life that can be defined by isolation, violence and illness. In nigeria, the child marriage problem needs to be cut off at.
A profile of married adolescents in northern nigeria. The scourge of child poverty has also taken a seat in nigeria, a country that is tagged to be the. Pdf the socioeconomic effect of early marriage in north western. In the same manner, the wife of the president, hajiya aisha buhari cried out against the pervasiveness of child marriage in northern nigeria, where she made case that more than 50 percent of girls in the north were married before the age of 15. Nigeria is among the top 20 countries in africa with the highest number of child. Section 61 of part i of the 1999 constitution and the protection of children against child. There is a high percentage of young girls forced into early marriage and this is a major concern because is in the northern part of nigeria you get more cases of vvf. M according to world health organization who, two million girls go through this practice every year. For many countries, eighteen is the legal age of marriage. She made the news this week for poisoning and killing her husband and two of his friends. Early marriage is particularly prevalent in rural areas. Islam and family planning with a special emphasis on northern nigeria.
Legislation against child marriage in nigeria research cyber. The girl child also through some harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation f. The scope of the problem the scope of the problem forced child marriage is a lifechanging reality for many of the worlds girls. Child marriage is common among the hausa ethnic group in nigeria. The menace in nigeria, most especially in the northern region of the country, has become a noted phenomenon and has affected and. Section 61 of part 1 of the 1999 constitution and the protection of children against child marriage ts braimah child bride and child sex. Although early marriage is prevalent in nigeria, regional differences indicate the northern part of the country as having a higher percentage of girls who marry. Apr 29, 2020 in nigeria, the northern states refusing domestication of nigeria s child right act are muslim dominated and are reacting to protect their ethnoreligious standpoint on child marriage. Education and marriage differentials in nigeria it is widely known that women in northern nigeria, especially the core north north east and north west have lower levels of educational attainment than women in the southern zones. In contrast, northern girls have low levels of education, marry very early, and. Most girlsfemales between the ages of 617 years, who are supposed to be in school, are. Early marriage and its implications on the nigerian.
Some of the causes of early marriage in nigeria include conflict, poverty, religion, and tradition. May 25, 2019 when nigeria signed the child rights act in 2003 setting the marriage age at 18, many child rights groups heaved a sigh of relief hoping it would outlaw the practice across the west african nation. See grand challenges canada project in nigeria 20142016, walker. In relation to the link between illiteracy and child marriage in nigeria, the 2008 national demographic and health survey revealed that there was a higher level of illiteracy among women in northern nigeria than any other part of the country. Pdf changing dynamics of early marriage in rural areas. Ethnicity, religious affiliation and girlchild marriage. The child rights act, passed in 2003, raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 for girls. She made this known on october 20 2015 in abuja, at the national conference on social protection for. Research into early marriage has tended to concentrate only on specific aspects of its impact such as the effects on reproductive health and school dropout. Child marriage in the sahel unicef data child statistics. The traditional education of the people as will see later in this study prepares the girl child for early marriage. Child, or forced marriage, still occurs in rural communities of nigeria, especially in the countrys northern states bamgbose july 2002, 4. Jan 08, 2019 early child marriage in nigeria child marriage customs, a situation whereby children are given into marriage well before they attain puberty occur all over the world particularly in africa, asia, and south america.
Mauritania and nigeria, more than half of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 who. Perception and factors influencing early marriage in a. Apr 21, 2020 the concept of ijbar is a facilitator of child marriage in northern nigeria. Pdf legality of child marriage in nigeria and inhibitions. Although the age of majority legal adulthood and marriageable age are usually designated at age 18, both vary across countries and. Causal factors of child marriage in northern nigeria,source. Jun 26, 2020 defined as marriage before the age of 18, child marriage is a problem with multifaceted dimensions and consequences.
In nigeria, the child marriage problem needs to be cut off. Street hawking is a global phenomenon and widespread in nigeria over the years. Child spouses this digest focuses on early marriage the marriage of children and young people under the age of 18 from a human rights perspective. Child marriage and education in nigeria global business. A national childrens commission should be set up for defending the rights of the girl child in an educational, social, cultural, political, and economic context. Bid to end child marriages arouses passions in northern. Child spacing and family planning attitudes of young married men and women in selected areas of north west nigeria. Early marriage should be outlawed, and parents should be educated about the benefits of later marriage. Some of the barriers to girl child education in northern nigeria, as witnessed by one of the researchers, during his national youth service corps nysc at kano state, nigeria include. Although the nigerian government has tried to stamp out child marriage with the enactment of the child rights act 2003 cra, the practice of child marriage is still very prevalent among the hausafulani predominant muslim tribe who occupy northern nigeria and where sharia law is in force. While data suggests a decline of 9 per cent in the prevalence of child marriage since 2003, and a projected further decrease of 6 per cent by 2030, nigeria s rapid population growth means that the number of child brides will in fact increase by more than one million by 2030 and double by 2050.
Problems and challenges of girlchild education in nigeria. The region is defined by its climate a semiarid zone bordered on the north by the sahara desert and on the south by tropical savannas. Building resilience and resistance to child, early, and forced. However, there is a wide prevalence of early marriages in nigeria. Jun 12, 2014 child marriage is simply a traditional convention that has been allowed to subsist within nigeria. It attempts to do this by providing a comprehensive overview of the religiolegal and social character of marriage in nigeria. Kebbi state, like every other state in northern nigeria, grapples with low girl child enrolment in school and colleges. The paper therefore explores intricate aspects of marriages in nigeria. Harmful practices such as child marriage are prevalent in nigeria, with 43 per cent of girls married before the age of 18, 5. Wasila umaru is a 14yearold girl that was forced to marry a 35yearold man in nigeria. In this region, girls enter marriage and begin their sexual experience when they are young, sometimes as young as 10. North, where an estimated 43% of girls get married by age 15 unohcr, 20. Many factors interact to place a child at risk of marriage, including poverty, the perception that marriage will provide protection, family honor, social norms, customary or religious laws that condone the practice, an inadequate legislative framework and the state of a countrys civil registration system. Child marriage is widely practiced in nigeria and is further encouraged by.
Child marriage not in conformity with nigerian law. Special thanks to the unfpa and unicef child marriage focal points. In nigeria, an estimated 44% of girls in nigeria are married before their 18th birthday and the country, also, records the 11th highest rate of child marriage unicef 20. The overall rate of child marriage in the middle east and north africa mena region has. It will also assess changes in modern contraceptive use in bauchi and sokoto states between 2009 and 2014 using household survey and facilitylevel data, and contextualize the quantitative findings with a qualitative study. Child marriage unfpa united nations population fund.
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