Mary has no use in her right arm. At age 14, in addition to her daily beatings, her husband stabbed her for talking to a boy. At the police station, instead of the husband getting arrested, Mary was the one punished for complaining; she was caned (whipped and beaten) by the officers (Smaak). For most of us, this is unimaginable, but in Niger this experience is not an uncommon one. As the poorest country in the world, Niger has the lowest level of human development, the highest amount of gender inequality, and the highest percentage of child marriages (“Human development”). Even though marriage before age 15 is supposed to be illegal, 25% of girls are married before then, and 76% are married before age 18 (Andriamasinoro). These forced marriages, usually to men decades older, are rising in number in this West African country.
In desperate situations, families sometimes feel that selling their daughter into marriage is the family’s only hope for survival (Smaak). 74.9% of their 21.5 million people are considered to be in severe multidimensional poverty, so giving away their daughters allows the family the opportunity to receive a lobolo (“Human Development”). A lobolo is a negotiated price discussed between the soon-to-be husband and the father of the girl. It is considered “a token of appreciation,” but in reality, it reduces girls to the equivalent of cattle. One Nigerien discusses how he gave his eleven year-old daughter away to a 60-year-old man to become a servant and “second wife” for the price of sixteen USD (LaFraniere).
When poverty is mixed with cultural stigmas that set women as inferior to their male counterparts, young girls are often not given access to an education and therefore do not receive the necessary skills to join the workforce. Since families cannot afford to pay for schooling for all their kids, they are more likely to send their sons. Fewer than ⅕ of girls enroll in secondary school and their fathers, who may consider them “economic burdens,” can instead choose to marry them off into a life of servitude and slavery (Andriamasinoro)(HIV and AIDs). If they try to resist their fathers decision, they may be beaten or starved until they comply (LaFraniere).
Once in these “age-disparate sexual relations,” young women’s vulnerability for physical and emotional problems are vast. Not only are they subjected to marital rape and domestic violence, but as a result, they may get diseases or become pregnant. Women who have endured sexual violence are 50% more likely to receive HIV, and since their bodies are not yet physically mature, they are more likely to have a fatal birth experience (HIV and AIDs). The maternal mortality rate in Niger is 553/100,000 compared to 14/100,000 in the US (“Human Development”). Because of their lack of education, these girls do not know much about nutrition and how to keep their babies healthy which means a lot of their children do not survive past childhood (HIV and AIDs).
Ethiopia used to have similar circumstances to Niger until the government worked with religious community leaders to speak out against child marriages. With their large influence and wide reach, the leaders helped drop the number of child marriages immensely, becoming almost non-existent in certain areas. Over the last decade, the child marriage rate in Ethiopia dropped by ⅓, the sharpest decline ever (Ababa). Combined with non government organizations (NGOs) efforts to educate girls, the government was able to instigate change in Ethiopia, and if similar efforts were to be put into effect in Niger, child marriages could be reduced or potentially eradicated (LaFraniere).
In desperate situations, families sometimes feel that selling their daughter into marriage is the family’s only hope for survival (Smaak). 74.9% of their 21.5 million people are considered to be in severe multidimensional poverty, so giving away their daughters allows the family the opportunity to receive a lobolo (“Human Development”). A lobolo is a negotiated price discussed between the soon-to-be husband and the father of the girl. It is considered “a token of appreciation,” but in reality, it reduces girls to the equivalent of cattle. One Nigerien discusses how he gave his eleven year-old daughter away to a 60-year-old man to become a servant and “second wife” for the price of sixteen USD (LaFraniere).
When poverty is mixed with cultural stigmas that set women as inferior to their male counterparts, young girls are often not given access to an education and therefore do not receive the necessary skills to join the workforce. Since families cannot afford to pay for schooling for all their kids, they are more likely to send their sons. Fewer than ⅕ of girls enroll in secondary school and their fathers, who may consider them “economic burdens,” can instead choose to marry them off into a life of servitude and slavery (Andriamasinoro)(HIV and AIDs). If they try to resist their fathers decision, they may be beaten or starved until they comply (LaFraniere).
Once in these “age-disparate sexual relations,” young women’s vulnerability for physical and emotional problems are vast. Not only are they subjected to marital rape and domestic violence, but as a result, they may get diseases or become pregnant. Women who have endured sexual violence are 50% more likely to receive HIV, and since their bodies are not yet physically mature, they are more likely to have a fatal birth experience (HIV and AIDs). The maternal mortality rate in Niger is 553/100,000 compared to 14/100,000 in the US (“Human Development”). Because of their lack of education, these girls do not know much about nutrition and how to keep their babies healthy which means a lot of their children do not survive past childhood (HIV and AIDs).
Ethiopia used to have similar circumstances to Niger until the government worked with religious community leaders to speak out against child marriages. With their large influence and wide reach, the leaders helped drop the number of child marriages immensely, becoming almost non-existent in certain areas. Over the last decade, the child marriage rate in Ethiopia dropped by ⅓, the sharpest decline ever (Ababa). Combined with non government organizations (NGOs) efforts to educate girls, the government was able to instigate change in Ethiopia, and if similar efforts were to be put into effect in Niger, child marriages could be reduced or potentially eradicated (LaFraniere).
Works cited:
Ababa, Addis, and Niamey. “Child Marriage in Africa.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 22 Sept. 2018,www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa /2018/09/22/ child- marriage-in-africa.
Andriamasinoro, Lalaina Fatratra, and Islamane Abdou Soumaila. “Ending Child Marriage in Niger.” UNICEF Niger, UNICEF, 14 Feb. 2019, www.unicef.org/niger/stories/ending -child- marriage-niger.
“HIV and AIDS in East and Southern Africa Regional Overview.” AVERT, Avert, 26 Feb. 2019,
www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/sub-saharan-africa/overview.
“Human Development Reports.” | Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, hdr.undp.org/en/countries/.
LaFraniere, Sharon. “Forced to Marry Before Puberty, African Girls Pay Lasting Price.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Nov. 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/world/ africa/forced-to-marry-before-puberty-african- girls-pay-lasting-price.html.
Smaak, Annerieke, and Nisha Varia. “Ending Child Marriage in Africa.” Edited by Clive Baldwin et al., Human Rights Watch, 22 Feb. 2017, www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/09/ending- child-marriage-africa.
This is a terrible situation. These things should not be happening, no matter where in the world it is.
ReplyDeleteI really like your use of a lot of statistics to make comparisons and really show the gravity of the situation.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! I like how you chose your introduction to be a real story of a girl, it was really emotional. Overall, you have a lot of strong evidence and statistics that really bring this article together. I like your angle on this topic!
ReplyDelete