The Federal Government in Abuja on Tuesday announced plans to launch a campaign to end child marriage and other related harmful traditional practices in the country.
The goal of the campaign is to reduce child marriage in the country by 40 percent in 2020 in line with the child rights act of 2013, an act that criminalizes all forms of violence against children in Nigeria.
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.
“Global communities and Nigeria in particular are increasingly recognizing child marriage as a serious challenge, both as a violation of human rights and a hindrance 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.
The Resident Coordinator, United Nations, represented by Muhammed Malik, said 23 million Nigerian girls were married before 18 years.
“As United Nations, we are proud to support Nigeria as the 16th country to move to end child marriage, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals that we have pledged to achieve by the year 2030.
“With a national prevalence of 43 percent of women marrying before the age of 18, Nigeria has the highest absolute number of child marriage in the world, with a total of 23 million,” he said.
United Nations, Canadian government and other leading health organizations are supporting the policy to ensure its success.
Background on Child Marriages in Nigeria:
In Nigeria, 43% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday. 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 as low as 10% in the South East.
While data shows a 9% decline in the prevalence of child marriage since 2003, action is needed to prevent thousands of girls from being married in the coming years.
DRIVERS
Poverty, poor educational attainment and strong social and religious traditions are drivers of child marriage in Nigeria.
Education is a strong indicator of whether a girl will marry as a child. 82% of women with no education were married before 18, as opposed to 13% of women who had at least finished secondary education.
In northern Nigeria, parents have complained that the quality of education is so poor that schooling cannot be considered a viable alternative to marriage for their daughters.
LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE
The Nigerian Constitution does not establish a minimum age of marriage. The Child Rights Act, which was passed in 2003, sets the age of marriage at 18 years-old. However, only 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states have taken concrete steps to implement the minimum age of marriage.
NATIONAL INITIATIVES TO END CHILD MARRIAGE
A Technical Working Group on Ending Child Marriage was formed at the end of 2015. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the group is composed of over 30 members, including civil society organisations.
Its aims are to develop and implement a holistic multi-sectoral strategy for ending child marriage in Nigeria, as well as raising awareness, encouraging behaviour change, and ensuring the monitoring and evaluation of laws and policies.
In May 2015, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act was adopted to address the issue of female genital mutilation/cutting and other harmful traditional practices such as child marriage.
Sources:
- UNICEF, State of the World’s Children, 2016
- World Vision, Untying the knot: Exploring early marriage in fragile states, 2013
- UNFPA, Marrying Too Young: End Child Marriage, 2012
- UNFPA, Nigeria: Child marriage country profile, 2012
