Although marriage under islamic law possesses most of the features of customary law marriage already discussed, it is necessary to consider, that system separately. This was achieved through the marriage ordinance 1914, which applied throughout nigeria. In many parts of the world parents encourage the marriage of their daughters while they are still children in hopes that the marriage will benefit them both financially and socially, while also. Building resilience and resistance to child, early, and forced. 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. The paper examines the socioeconomic effect of early marriage in north western nigeria using zaria local government as a case study. According to an assessment conducted by unicef in 2005, among women ages 15 to 24, 48 percent were married before the age of 18 in south asia, 42 percent in africa, and 29 percent in latin america.
Addressing early marriage of young and adolescent girls. Children should have childhoods and not be forced into marriages. 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. Nigeria, particularly northern nigeria, has some of the highest rates of early marriage in the world. Limited education and economic options little or no schooling strongly correlates with being married at a young age.
The state of married adolescents in northern nigeria. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child. The alleged underage marriage provision is an existing law in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria as contained in section 29 clauses 4b which states that any woman that. Child brides facing death sentences a decade after child marriage prohibited ten years after underage marriage was prohibited, 39% of girls. One specific health problem associated with earlyforced marriage that is particularly prevalent in. Child marriage in niger is a cultural issue, not an islamic one. In 2017 in nigeria, 43% of girls are married off before the age of 18. The child rights act, passed in 2003, raised the minimum age. Marriage act an act to make provisions for the celebration of marriages. If you are lucky enough to find your love, sooner or later you will have to legitimize your relationship. Addressing early marriage of young and adolescent girls girls in many resourcepoor countries often have little choice about whom or when they marry. Child, early, and forced marriage and psychological trauma of girls in northeast. Progress is most dramatic when it comes to the marriage of girls under 15 years of age.
Nigeria is the 11th highest nation in the world for percentage of child marriages data shows a 9% decline in the prevalence of child marriage compared to 2003. The majority of girls in the north experience first sex in. The 2003 nigeria demographic and health survey ndhs shows that early marriage is prevalent across nigeria. All hands therefore need to be on deck to solve this problem since children are too immature both physically and mentally to fight on their own. National strategy to end child marriage in nigeria 2016. The highest proportions of married adolescents are in the northern.
It was found that early marriage is the most common reason given for leaving school. To know the general attitude of the public towards early marriage. Child marriage in west and central africa is one of. Child marriages in india the red elephant foundation december 20 e 4 introduction child marriage refers to the marriage of a child younger than 18 years old,1 in accordance to article 1 of the convention on the right of the child. Help put an end to early and forced marriage and the damage it causes to a girls health and her wellbeing. For instance, infidelity, infertility, laziness and unhygienic behaviours are some of the major causes of divorce in many societies and women with these attributes are usually returned to their parents. Besides having a negative impact on girls themselves. The implications of early marriage on the girlchild that negatively impacts her wellbeing and that of the.
Legality of child marriage in nigeria and inhibitions against realisation of education rights kayode olatunbosun fayokun obafemi awolowo university, ileife, nigeria early marriage forces girls into adulthood before they are emotionally and physically matured, leading to a range of harmful effects on their health, education, and economic and. Early marriage in nigeria causes consequences and solution. A lot of people out there are one day hoping to find true love and live happily. Child marriage is the formal or informal marriage of a child under the age of 18 most often the marriage of a young girl to an older boy or man. Number of girls and women married in childhood in west and central africa nigeria 22 million benin 900,000. However, marriage is regarded as a moment of celebration and a. Building resilience and resistance to child, early, and forced marriage through acquiring skills findings from implementation research in nigeria judithann walker tuesday, august 6, 2019.
Forced early marriages are known to cause reproductive health risk to the girl child and they. Traditional marriage in urhobo the traditional marriage of the urhobo people is so unique that if people have a tribe to single out as one that have aone in all marriage arrangements, urhobo is there to be picked. Child marriage not in conformity with nigerian law. While the age of marriage is generally on the rise, early marriage marriage of children and adolescents below the age of 18 is still widely practiced. Marriage act 4 years ago admin laws and acts governing the system. Should be able to tell if early marriage is higher in. Abstract this brief has provided a basic profile of child marriage in nigeria. Early and forced marriages in nigeria exists and needs to be curbed on time. Building resilience and resistance to child, early, and.
Pdf early marriage and its implications on the nigerian economy. In minna, nigeria, where conservative sharia islamic law is in effect, the international centre for reproductive health and sexual rights increse is helping to prevent child marriage by educating girls and empowering. A visit to the worlds fifth poorest country has shown me that battling early and forced marriage begins with communities. Child marriage is one of the burning problems of indian. Traditional marriage in nigeria, see all the tribes. Trends in marriage and divorce figure 1 lays out some facts about marriage and divorce in the united states over the last 150 years. Nigeria has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5. Early marriage refers to any marriage before the legal age of marriage which may differ from country to country the legal age of marriage differs by sex, for example, in some countries in africa it is 18 for males and only 15 for females. Many girls who are married off before they turn 18 or are forced into early marriages are made to leave school, depriving them of their right to education and future independence. Median age at first marriage or union among women aged 20 to 24 years, in selected countries the practice of child marriage is slowly declining. The merger of northern and southern nigeria in 1914 made it imperative to streamline the marriage laws in the new political entity, nigeria. The share of women ages 1822 who married as children is 42. Short title this act may be cited as the marriage act.
The principal requirements of valid islamic law marriage are. Ending child marriage and meeting the needs of married. Identify the effect of early marriage on the academic performance on girl child. Early and forced marriage, child, child rights, nigeria.
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. Two types of consent are involved hereconsent of the parties and parental consent. Effect of child marriage on girls school dropout in nepal. Conversely, attending school and having higher levels of education protect girls from the possibility of early marriage. Early marriage has been a common practice among many ethnic groups in the world. Early marriage is particularly prevalent in rural areas. Major types of marriage in nigeria updated 2019 legit. While early marriage takes many different forms and has various causes, one issue is paramount. An early married couple is usually expected to have more children than a relatively late married couple early marriage. Marriage traditions is one of such culturally resplendent practices and jumia travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 interesting nigerian marriage traditions to know. Zehadul karim international islamic university of malaysia malaysia abstract though a lot of research have been concerned with school dropout issue for both girls and boys. Early marriage is used to refer both formal marriage and informal unions in which a girl lives with a partner as if married before age of 18,early marriage also known as child marriage is defined as any marriage carried out below the age of18 years before the girl is physically, physiologically.
Having established the significant prevalence of early marriage in nigeria, and the social constructs that. Legal issues, complications, implications, prospects and solutions article pdf available january 2014 with,619 reads how we measure reads. Negative effects of early marriage on girls include early widowhood, the spread of hivaids, prostitution, family problems, medical problems, and suicide bamgbose july 2002, 45. The risk of girls dropping out peaks in the seventh and eighth grades and.
The study, by unicef, show that there is always a negative correlation between the time of marriage and the number of children. Introduction marriage before the age of 18 is a reality for many young women. The impact of early marriage taking action the need for research in conclusion links references innocenti digest no. Indigenous marriage institutions and divorce in nigeria 166 obtains in one society, to a large extent influences that in another society 3,4. Pdf child marriage is often deployed as a response to crisis, considered by families and communities to be the best possible means of protecting. Globally, 1 in 4 young women alive today were married in childhood versus 1 in 3 in the early 1980s. In many cultures, including that of nigeria, marriage is regarded as a legitimate way for two. Shahidul international islamic university of malaysia malaysia a. End early and forced marriage for girls in nigeria. Identify government aid towards the stopping of early marriage in nigeria.
The experience of married adolescent girls in northern nigeria. A harmful traditional practice 11 women who had used modern contraception. The share of girls marrying very early, before the age of 15. You may have heard a lot about nigerian traditional marriage. Early marriage and its implications on the nigerian economy ssrn. The socioeconomic effect of early marriage in north. Overall, the risk of school dropout due to marriage heightens after girls complete the fifth or sixth grade. It repealed the marriage ordinance 1908, the marriage proclamation 1907, and the foreign marriage ordinance 19.