The Nation Newspaper

Tag: child marriage

  • ‘Let’s end child marriage’

    ‘Let’s end child marriage’

    A Humanitarian group, Save the Children International, has advocated for the creation of a national movement to end child marriage.

    The organisation, which caters to the needs of children, also made a case for a movement to send all girl – child back to school.

    The organisation said child marriage was one of the most grievous forms of violence perpetrated against girls as well as a form of Gender Based Violence.

    Director; Advocacy, Campaign Communication and Media of the organisation, Amanuel Mamo, said Nigeria has an estimated 23 million child brides.

    Read Also: Dangote names Lagos refinery road after Wigwe

    He stated that two in every five women were married as children, saying that investing on children, girls, was investing in the future of women.

    Mamo harped on the need to increase budgetary allocation to improve women and girls social protection services as well as ensure timely and efficient releases to be utilise on ending early, child and forced marriages, at all levels.

  • Humanitarian group seeks action on child marriage

    Humanitarian group seeks action on child marriage

    • Says Nigeria has 23 million child-brides

    An international humanitarian group, Save the Children International( SCI) has called on the Federal Government to put measures in place to address the rising cases of child marriage.

    In a report titled “Budgeting to End Child Marriage in Nigeria” launched by the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye at a Girls led conference organised by SCI in Abuja, the organisation said that there are about 23 million child-brides in the country.

    Read Also: AU set to fight child marriage

    The report showed that Northern Nigeria, recorded the highest number of child-brides, as 48 per cent of women are married before age 15, while 78 per cent are married before age 18.

    The report also showed that adequate funding was required at all levels of government to effectively and sustainably curb the menace that endangers the future of the girl-child.

  • AU calls for accelerated action on child marriage

    The Africa Union (AU) rose from its 3rd Specialised Technical Committee on Social Development, Labour and Employment (STC-SDLE-3) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in April, to call for accelerated action on Africa Fit for Children Campaign to end child marriage in Africa.

    According to 2018 UNICEF statistics on child marriage, Sub- Saharan Africa currently has the highest levels of child marriage globally, having overtaken South Asia, and that about four out of every 10 girls in Africa are married before the age of 18.

    The campaign, according to the draft report of the ministers’ meeting, is aimed at promoting, protecting and advocating for the rights of women and girls in Africa.

    It recommends the AU to facilitate dialogue with religious, traditional leaders, youth, and community stakeholders to implement concrete actions to be taken to accelerate an end to child marriage. The AU to provide set of guidelines to member states when undertaking evaluation country visits in order to properly analyze the progress made by member states in their national strategies and programmes on ending child marriages and as part of the AU Campaign’s 5-year strategic plan (2019 -2023), an institutional mechanism for cooperation between the African Champion on ending marriage– President Edgar Lungu, Special Rapporteur and Goodwill Ambassador on ending child marriage should be set up so that they can have synergy and strengthen their work with government institutions and civil society organisations.

    In addition, it recommends that “support should be extended to member states beyond monitoring and evaluation visits, to also include guidance on social protection services to communities in rural areas, who in many cases are most affected by child marriages.

    The meeting was attended by delegates from over 40 member states among them Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria.

    With the theme: “Poverty eradication through strategic investments at national and regional levels towards social development, labour and employment in Africa,” the meeting also adopted the draft AU disability strategic framework, draft plan of action on ending attacks and discrimination against people with albinism while requesting the AUC to appoint a special envoy for people with albinism in Africa.

     

  • Kwara govt decries prevalence of child marriage

    •Group registers 6,000 vulnerable, orphan girls in Kwara

    The Kwara State government has decried the high rate of early child marriage in the state.

    The government said it would make those who push their girl-children into early marriage to face the consequences of their action.

    The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development Hajia Taibat Ahmed said statistics had shown that about six million girls get married at 15, adding that the state added significantly to the number.

    Mrs Ahmed spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, at a workshop on the rights of a girl, organised by Women and Youth Development Initiative (WOYODEV).

    The commissioner said the state government would help the girl-child to lead a wholesome life for her to achieve her dreams.

    She said: “We will continue to seek partnership and give support to individuals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to address issues affecting women and girls and the community with the interest of ending child marriage and other child rights issues.

    “Child marriage, which has its root cause in socio-cultural beliefs, ignorance and poverty, has various side effects as it puts our girls at high risk of health complications, including HIV, VVF and maternal mortality. As such, child marriage is a barrier to socio-economic development as it represents a detrimental life-course shift during the crucial period of adolescence.”

    The Executive Director of WOYODEV, Mrs Tosin Ajayi said her organisation had registered 6,000 vulnerable girls to early marriage.

    She added that other criteria considered in registering the girls include those without parents, those with indigent background, out-of-school girls and those already in early marriage.

    According to her, the menace of early girl-child marriage is prevalence in the northern part of the state.

    Mrs Ajayi said: “In the developing world, Nigeria inclusive, one in three girls is married before 18 and one in nine before the age of 15. A confluence of social, economic, cultural and political factors perpetuate this harmful practice, which rights in the nexus of all these factors are unequal norms and power relations that devalue and restrict women and girls.

    “In Nigeria, the number of girls affected by child marriage is high. This is due largely to the population of our country. According to statistics, Nigeria ranks 14th among the 20 countries with the highest rate of child marriage in the world.”

     

  • UNICEF demands govt interventions to end infant mortality, child marriage 

    The United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) at the weekend called for government’s interventions to tackle the problems of high infant mortality, underage marriage, children’s malnutrition and other child-related challenges in Bayelsa State.

    The UNICEF Chief of Field Services, Dr. Annefrida Kisesa-Mkusa, spoke in Yenagoa, during the policy dialogue with state executive and legislature on “Investment in maternal nutrition and infant and young child feeding”.

    Quoting recent data at the event organised by the Bayelsa State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with UNICEF, Kisesa-Mkusa said the infant mortality in Bayelsa state was still very high.

    She said the date contained in the 2016/2017 report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that out of every 1,000 babies born, almost 100 die before the age of five years.

    She also said  over 10 per cent of female children in the state were married off before the age of 15.

    The UNICEF boss said: “Available evidence shows that getting the right nutrients at the right time is critical, particularly during the first 1,000 days of life starting from conception to the child’s second birthday.

    “Unfortunately, during the last decade, Bayelsa State has made little progress in improving the nutrition status of children and women as well as in other key child survival indicators.

    “Three in 10 women deliver their babies at home and are not delivering their babies with assistance of skilled personnel. Bayelsa State has stagnated at this rate since 2007.

    “One in five (18 per cent) of girls of between 15 and 19 years have begun child bearing. Three in 10 (29 per cent) babies born in Bayelsa State face the high risk of dying in their first month of life (27-28 days of birth).

    “Infant mortality (probability of dying between birth and the first birthday) reduced from 102/1,000 in 2011 to 57/1,000 in 2016/2017, but it is still unacceptably high.

    “Under 5 mortality in Bayelsa has been reduced from 178/1,000 to 95/1,000 live but this means that for every 1,000 babies born, almost 100 die before the age of five years. The average for the South-South region is 59. Bayelsa still carries the highest burden for this indicator.”

    Kisesa-Mkusa added that seven in every 10 children of between 12 and 23 months could not receive all the vaccinations recommended in the national schedule by second birthday including polio and measles.

    She noted that Bayelsa was the worst performing state in the region in terms of immunisation coverage, adding that from 16 per cent in 2007, coverage was at 23.3 per cent in 2011 and in 2016/2017 was at 28.5 per cent.

    Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu said the government was desirous of ensuring food security in the state, but identified fragmentation in budget planning as a major problem.

    Etebu said the best his ministry could do was to intervene, which might not be enough,  as there is a need to tackle the problem from the grassroots.

    Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning Dr. Ebi Joshua said malnutrition in children was a global problem, especially in developing countries, noting that the state was doing its best to ameliorate the problem.

    The commissioner said: “The government believes in this fact and has set out to adopt as well as implement plans at its terminal focus in governance.

    “The government has consistently invested massively in the health sector which in turn calls for serious commitment from development partners especially the UNICEF.”

    He, however, commended UNICEF’s consistency in supporting the state government towards providing for the citizens.

     

  • Dogara, others for conference on child marriage

    Dogara, others for conference on child marriage

    Leading lights in all fields of life will converge on Accra International Conference on April 25 for the African Women Intercultural dialogue.
    The experts will deliberate on negative cultural practices affecting modern African girl-child and woman with a view to overturning them via legislations in the continent. The dialogue will centre on policy, social and educational issues contingent to the sustainable development of the girl child in contemporary realities. It is endorsed by UNESCO Ghana with Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu among the discussants.
    The theme is Negative cultural practices and underdevelopment of the African girl child and woman’ with Ghanaian First Lady Mrs. Rebecca Akuffo Addo expected to chair the dialogue and Speaker Yabuku Dogara overseeing and advising participants on how issues raised can pass legislative process.

  • Zamfara governor’s daughter to check child marriage

    Zamfara governor’s daughter to check child marriage

    The daughter of the Zamfara state governor, Hajiya Zainab Yari, has drawn up an education programme towards checking forceful marriage through her Non-Governmental Organization, “Himma Community Health Circle Initiative (H. Coheic).

    This was disclosed by the NGO’s Public Relations Officer, Eunice Bosua at a press conference in Gusau on Saturday.

    Bosua said that the initiative had already started a campaign tagged “sponsor a girl-child to school” in two states and Abuja with the aim of encouraging parents and other well-to-do individuals to sponsor the education of female children.

    She said the focus was largely on the female children because the initiative had discovered that a larger percentage of out of school children in the states were girls.

    She explained that because they were out of school, such girls cannot think and decide for themselves and so they are subjected to forceful marriages and other challenges.

    She said any girl picked by the initiative or is sponsored by an individual or organization through the initiative would be encouraged to remain in school until she finished her senior secondary school.

    She further said the NGO would cater for all the education needs of its beneficiaries who desired to further their education up to tertiary level.

    She said the pilot scheme of the project would be carried out simultaneously in the FCT and Zamfara and Bauchi states.

    The spokeswoman appealed to all well meaning individuals and organizations to partner with H. Coheic in order to give girls a chance. (NAN)

  • Pupils, parents enjoined to end child marriage

    Action Health Incorporated (AHI) during its 23rd Annual Teenage Festival of Life (TFL) has enjoined pupils and parents to totally eradicate child marriage in Nigeria.

    In a bid to end child marriage in the course of the programme, young people from public secondary schools across Lagos State showcased the realities of child marriage using songs, poetry and drama to advocate for the total eradication of Child marriage in the country.

    AHI in its press release noted that “child marriage is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and despite laws against it, the practice still remains widespread.

    “In Nigeria, 43% of girls are married before their 18th birthday and 17% are married before they turn 15. The prevalence of child marriage varies widely from one region to another, with figures as high as 76% in the North West region and 10% in the South East.

    “These child brides are burdened with responsibilities as wives and mothers with little support, resources, or life experience to meet these challenges. Furthermore, girls’ rights, health and development are undermined by the impact of early marriage, including pregnancy and early childbearing which impact on their mortality and morbidity. There are also outcomes of early termination of their schooling which limits human capital and their future productivity which of course affects the lives of their children and families,” the statement observed.

    Speaking at the event, the Director of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Alaba Fadairo lamented the rapid growth of child marriage in the country, saying: “The theme of this year’s TFL is apt, because it is coming at a time where a lot of our girls are getting married earlier than expected.

    “Surveys have been conducted showing that a lot of young girls have been involved in the motherhood of a family.

    “Some of our girls have become mothers when they are supposed to be in school or undergoing trainings to empower them for brighter future. This is quite alarming and worrisome.”

    She further stressed on the involvement of government in ending child marriage in the societal context.

    “There are lots of activities the Lagos State government has been doing to end this menace. The government is also not slacking in the implementation of policy that guards the rights of our children.”

    According to her, “the Lagos State government has zero tolerance to all forms of abuse. Child marriage is an abuse because of it adverse effects on a child; it could be socially, physically, emotionally and can even put a child in a life trauma.”

  • Child marriage hinders girl child development – NGO

    The Centre for Learning and Educational Development Advocacy Africa (CLEDA-Africa), an NGO, has said that child marriage is one of the major hindrances to girl child development in the country.

    Mr Daniels Akpan, its Executive Director, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday that globally, one in seven adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 are currently married.

    “This is even worst in developing countries where one in three girls are married off before they turn 18 and more than 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth daily.

    “This increases the world population by seven million annually,’’ he said.

    Akpan also said that out of the more than seven billion population of the world, 1.1 billion are girls with talents, creativity and full of abilities.

    However, he pointed out that culture, religion, tradition, poverty and illiteracy, among other factors, had hindered and limited the full development of the girl child.

    As the world celebrates this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, the director called on relevant stakeholders and the global community to strengthen and support girl child progress in Kaduna State and the nation.

    According to him, girls are engine of national development and stress the need to promote girl child education in preparing them for a better future.

    “This is the best way to stand up for girls’ progress everywhere,’’ Akpan said.

    He disclosed that CLEDA Africa had in September trained 150 secondary school girls in Pampaida and Saulawa communities of Ikara Local Government Areas of Kaduna State on vocational skills.

    He said that the gesture was to empower the girls financially as part of efforts to encourage them to remain in school.

    Akpan called on the Federal and Kaduna State Governments to partner with CLEDA Africa to reach out to young girls and empower them with education and basic skills to live a productive life.

  • Buhari calls for end to child marriage, exploitation

    Buhari calls for end to child marriage, exploitation

    President Muhammadu Buhari, has called for an end to all forms of abuse and exploitation against the child, including abduction and forced early marriage.

    Buhari made the call Friday during the National Children’s Day Celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja; saying there is urgent need for all stakeholders, including parents and communities at all level to protect children against any form of violence.

    The president who was represented at the occasion by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, said the Federal Government was resolute in its efforts at rescuing all the missing Chibok Girls.

    He cited the recent rescue of Amina Ali Nkeki and Sarah Luka all of Chibok, as evidence that government was unwavering in its resolve in that regard.

    The President said, no child or indeed any other Nigerian should be put through the brutality of abduction, violence or forced marriage in whatever form, stressing that every girl has a right to education and choice of life.

    According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, Buhari while emphasizing the commitment of his administration to protecting the rights of children as enshrined in the Child Rights Act, 2007 as well as in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, said his government would continue to fight the scourge of child abuse, child abduction, child labour and child trafficking among others.

    He directed the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to liaise with other agencies to work out appropriate programmes including actions and measures that would help in tackling violence and abuse against children.

    While wishing children happy celebration, the President urged them to be responsible citizens by respecting constituted authorities as well their parents, teachers and elders.

    He called on parents to teach their children to live a life of honesty, dedication and love for the country.

    In her address, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Jumai Alhassan who was also represented at the occasion by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Hajiya Binta Adamu Bello assured that the government would not leave any stone unturned in protecting the rights of the children.