Tag Archives: Child Marriage

Finally, FG set to launch campaign to end child marriage.

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The Federal Government in Abuja on Monday announced plans to launch a campaign to end child marriage and other related harmful traditional practices in the country.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Sen. Aisha Alhassan said this during a media briefing.

Alhassan said the move was borne out of the resolution by African leaders to end child marriage during the 25th African Union Ordinary Session of Heads of State in June 2015.

She said the leaders also resolved to take practical steps in addressing the issues of child marriage and other harmful traditional practices.

“One of first practical steps is a vigorous campaign to end child marriage which will be launched tomorrow Nov. 29 at the Sheraton Hotel.

“Global communities and Nigeria in particular are increasingly recognising child marriage as a serious challenge, both as a violation of human rights and a hinderance to key developmental outcomes,’’ she said.

Alhassan said African countries were faced with the challenges of child marriage which robbed girls or children of their education, health and future.

She said according to UNICEF findings, 15 million children are married off every year globally with devastating consequences on their general wellbeing.

“This is very disturbing as it is further revealed that 15 out of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world are in Africa.

“Fifteen African countries have so far launched the campaign to end child marriage.

“The countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Niger, the Islamic Republic of Gambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Zambia, Chad, Burkina Faso , Mali and Madagascar,” Alhassan said.

She said a National Technical Working Group set up to end child marriage in the country was inaugurated on July 23, 2015 by the ministry.

Alhassan urged the media, development partners and other stakeholders to redouble their efforts in ensuring girl’s rights to freedom from child marriage and other forms of violence against children.

She also urged all stakeholders in the campaign, to be more proactive and come up with concrete actions to end child marriage in the country.

Anger in Turkey over bill to quash child sex convictions

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A bill to quash the convictions of men for child sex assaults if they marry their victim being debated by Turkey’s parliament provoked fury on Friday with critics accusing it of encouraging child rape.

The government angrily lashed out at the criticism, saying it was a crude distortion of an attempt to grapple with the legal consequences of child marriage in the country.

The bill was approved in an initial reading on Thursday evening and will be voted on again in a second debate in the coming days.

If passed, the law would allow the quashing the convictions of men convicted of assaulting a minor if the act was committed without “force, threat, or any other restriction on consent” and if the aggressor “marries the victim”.

The bill has been brought to parliament by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) but sparked immediate alarm among the opposition.

“The AKP is pushing through a text which pardons those who marry the child that they raped,” said an MP for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel.

On Twitter, the hashtag #TecavuzMesrulastirilamaz (Rape Cannot be Legitimised) became a top-trending topic as users took to social media to express their anger.

But Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag denied that the bill had anything to do with legitimising rape, saying critics were “distorting” the issue on purpose.

He argued the bill is aimed at helping couples who fall foul of the law because they have underage but consensual sex and want to marry.

“When a child is then born from this non-official union, the doctor warns the prosecutor and the man is sent to prison, putting the child and mother into financial difficulties.”

He said marriages involving minors were “unfortunately a reality” in Turkey but the men involved “were not rapists or sexual aggressors.” He said the measure would affect some 3,000 families.

The latest controversy comes after Turkey’s constitutional court in July annulled a criminal code provision punishing as “sexual abuse” all sexual acts involving children under the age of 15.

Defenders of that law argued it made a distinction between cases of sexual acts involving a young teenager or a toddler.

The legal age of consent in Turkey is 18 but child marriage is widespread in parts of the country, especially the southeast.

I Want Buhari To Help Me Get My Daughter Back! Father Of 14-Year Old Forced Into Marriage

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Seventy-year-old Tanko Isiyaku in this interview with Friday Olokor tells the story of his daughter, Habiba’s marriage to one Jamilu Lawal said to be an aide to the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabiru Usman. Habiba is believed to have been forced into marriage despite her parents kicking against it. she is 14.

Kindly tell us about yourself.
My name is Isiyaku Tanko. I am from Warkaza community in Kudun Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State. I am a Christian and belong to the ECWA denomination. I am 70 years old.

When did you hear about the marriage of your daughter to Jamilu Lawal, believed to be an aide to the Emir of Katsina?
It was when she left home that we heard about it. She left home on August 16.

When was the last time you saw her?
It was when I went to see the state commissioner of police about the matter that I saw her last. I have forgotten the date.

Did you marry her off to him?
I did not do that. She was forced into marriage.

Do you know Jamilu Lawal?
Yes, he lived close to us in the community.

When you said he lived close to your family, was he a friend to your family?
No, not at all.

Do you know if there was an affair between him and your daughter?
Honestly, I do not think anything like that happened.

Before she was taken away, did you notice any change in your daughter’s behaviour especially her religious beliefs?
No, there was no such thing. She did not change in any way, not even in her religion. She is a very dedicated Christian who believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Is it true that you wrote the emirate council to apologise for any embarrassment you might have caused it on the issue of your daughter?
No. I was given a prepared form. I was only told to sign on it and with a threat that if I did not do so, they would kill me.

Did your family receive any money, precisely N50,000, as the bride price for her marriage to Lawal?
(Laughs).It is a lie from the pit of hell.

What would you want the government to do?
They should please help me and bring back my daughter. I want her to remain as she was before she was forcefully taken away from us. My daughter was a virgin before her abduction to the emir’s palace.

Is there a threat to your life and that of your family members because of the development?
I believe that I am fine. I believe that everything is alright; if God is for me, nothing can be against me.

What are you doing to get your daughter back since you said you did not give her out in marriage to Lawal or anybody?
I was forced to sign the form. I would not have allowed them to take her away from me. I was forced. I really want the Federal Government to support me because if they leave this battle for me, I won’t be able to do anything.

How old is she?
She is 14 years old.

Your daughter was asked three questions by the Kaora Katsina on behalf of the Katsina Emirate Council on whether she was forcefully converted to Islam, whether the emirate council or any other person forced her into the marriage and whether she was already menstruating at the time she met Lawal. She answered yes to the questions. Were you in the palace on that day?
Yes, I was. When they asked her to stand up and follow me, she refused to say she would not follow me. I believe that my daughter was charmed. The way I saw her that day was not the way my
daughter was. She has never disobeyed me.

Is it true that when you went to the palace you were threatened?
Yes, I was molested. I faced the serious threat, they even wanted to beat and mob me.

Did you go to the palace alone?
No, five people accompanied me there. They included Yahaya Umaru, Jiamakan Gabriel, Yusuf Haruna, Reverend Bankuru and Lubulumu.

How many children do you have?
I have eight children.

Are they all from the same woman?
Yes, from one woman. Habiba is my seventh child. I have four boys and four girls.

Has there been any of case of abduction of  young female children for forced marriage in your community?
I have never seen any in my community. This is why I am very disturbed.

Are you not afraid your daughter could have been impregnated?
God will take control. I really do not know what to say as I am very disturbed at the moment. I pray such does not happen. She is still a small child. Before my daughter was taken away, she was a virgin but I do not know what is happening now. I want them to return my daughter to me as a virgin. That is what I want.

Has she started menstruating as the emirate council claimed before she met Lawal?
Honestly, I have never noticed anything of such.

What do you seek from President Muhammadu Buhari who is also from Katsina State regarding the matter?
I want President Muhammadu Buhari to assist me to get my daughter back. I desire nothing more.

Where is your wife?
She has travelled out of the community because the abduction of her daughter traumatised her. She has not been feeling well. I am also not feeling well at the moment because of the issue.

How did your other children receive the news of what happened to their sister?
Everybody is worried especially the last child who is a boy.

How old is your last child?
He clocked 12 years on Friday.

What class was your daughter before she was taken away?
She was in Junior Secondary School 3.

What has been the role of the police in the  matter?
The Katsina State commissioner of police tried. He spoke strongly about the matter, telling them to give me back my daughter because she is a minor and still under her parents. He told them to allow her to go.

Aisha Buhari Vows Advocacy Against Child Marriage

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Mrs Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday pledged to lead public advocacy for the legislation against child marriage in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Geoffery Njoku, the UNICEF Media and External Relations Officer, made available to newsmen in Abuja.

According to the statement, Buhari made the promise when 50 adolescent girls drawn from different schools in Bauchi, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and Sokoto states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, paid her a courtesy visit.

It said: “No single girl will be left behind in my movement to get every girl into school.’’

The statement quoted Aisha as urging that “parents should endeavour to keep their daughters in school for at least 12 years’’.

It said: “UNICEF and other partners are focusing their activities on the transformation power of education to equip adolescent girls to overcome all challenges that affect their lives and inhibit their prospects of advancement.”

Read More: NAN

How Goats & Chickens Can Help End Child Marriage

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In Ethiopia and Tanzania, young girls are married to adult men in exchange for livestock. But if the girls already own the animals, that monetary trade becomes less vital for poor families.

That’s the thinking behind an incentive and education program to reduce child marriage from international organization, Population Council. After spending three years in Tanzania andEthiopia—where almost 40 percent of girls are married before they reach 18—researchers found that donations of school supplies, providing girls and their families with chickens and goats, and community education were effective in decreasing rates of child marriage in both countries.

Child marriage is deeply rooted in tradition, but often perpetuated by poverty. Poor girls are twice as likely to be married before 18 than those with wealthy families, according to the International Research Center on Women. Struggling parents often marry off their daughters because they can’t afford to care for them or pay for schooling, and because they desperately need the dowry that accompanies marriage.

“When families and communities recognize the harms of child marriage, and have economic alternatives, they will delay the age at which their daughters get married,” said Annabel Erulkar, the study’s lead researcher.

The results were especially promising for young girls in Ethiopia, where child marriage is illegal. Those aged 12 to 14 who received school supplies were 94 percent less likely to be married, and those whose communities underwent an educational program on the harms of child marriage were 67 percent less likely to be married. Girls 15 to 17 that were promised two chickens every year they did not get married were half as likely to get married than those who did not.

In Tanzania, where the legal marriage age is 15 for girls, the interventions for 12 to 14-year-old girls were not successful, but giving 15 to 17-year-olds goats in exchange for delaying marriage decreased the odds by more than 60 percent.

Erulkar and her team also compiled the cost of incorporating all three models per girl in both countries: $44 in Ethiopia and $117 in Tanzania.

That’s a small price to pay when compared to the economic consequences of child marriage. Early marriage curtails a girl’s education, impairing their ability to get a job and contribute to their families and communities. As child marriage propagates global poverty, it often leads to other human rights violations including domestic violence and sexual abuse, according to Girls Not Brides.

More than 14 million girls around the world get married before the age of 18 each year. There are more than 700 million women alive today married as children. Without intervention, that figure will rise to 1.2 billion girls by 2050.

Read More: Takepart