Preventing and eliminating child, early and forced. Owing to the above facts, early child marriage has currently become a vital topic of discussion amongst several development platforms which has made it more visible to many that were unaware of its existence. Early marriage refers to the marriage of the children aged below 18 years. Studies on divorces in the context of child marriage in indonesia are few and the study presented in this report is. While these causes may be true of africa in general, it is important to examine whether they are the same causes affecting the. Poverty leads many parents to withdraw their daughters from school and offer them for marriage to older men in most cases in exchange for payment of lobola a dowry for the bride.
Finally, these harmful effects caused by the practice of early marriages calls for attention of the united nations to come up with the laws discouraging the early marriages. Ultimately, all this effort to promote the development of adolescent girls and to reduce early marriage and teenage pregnancy is important in the fight against poverty, said kundhavi kadiresan, world bank country director for zambia. Given the causes of early marriages, it is recommended that women in the atrisk group should be educated. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both.
While it affects both sexes, girls are more affected as they are the majority of the victims. Health consequences of child marriage in africa volume. Conversion from a custom ary marriage to a civil marriage. Your committee observes that incidences of child marriage are high in zambia.
People worry that the older a girl is, the more they will have to pay, so they marry girls early. Proportion of women aged 2024 in union by age 18 this map does not reflect a position by unicef on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Early marriage is at its most severe in ethiopia, though prevalence varies from one region to another. Addressing the root causes of child marriage is necessary if families, communities, nations and the world. Qualitative study of child marriage in six districts of zambia this research report was produced by gillian mann, padraig quigley and rosal fischer of child frontiers for the government of the republic of zambia in april 2015 with support from unicef. Based on thousands of surveys and interviews with parents, community leaders, and children in communities in all 3 countries, the report details the underlying causes of child marriage alongside a suite of recommendations for countering the endurance of. Although child marriage has declined by 25% from 41. The study adopted the simple percentage survey research design involving 40 teenagers. Shahidul international islamic university of malaysia malaysia a. Statutory recognition of customary marriages in zambia.
Solutions to unemployment in zambia by kabaso sydney mupukwa one of the biggest problems facing the young people of zambia today is youth unemployment. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child. Child marriage continues to be a challenge worldwide and especially in southern asia and africa. Zambia has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5. Child marriages are more prevalent in rural than in urban areas.
Teenage pregnancies and early childhood marriages at. In 2006, pathfinder internationalethiopia conducted a crosssectional communitybased study of the incidence, reasons for, and the personal and social consequences of early marriage in the region of amhara. Poor families sell their children into marriage either to settle debts or to make some money and escape the cycle of poverty. Preventing early marriage and teenage pregnancy in zambia. What about forced marriages and early marriages in zambia. Child marriage is associated with high levels of poverty. Effect of child marriages on national development zambia. Early marriage denies girls their right to make vital decisions about their sexual health and wellbeing.
Research report on teenage pregnancies among school girls in zambia by kabaso sydney one of the major social problems in subsahar. The the causes, consequences and solutions to causes, consequences and solutions tocauses, consequences and solutions to forced forced forced child marriage child marriage child marriage in the developing worldin the developing world testimony submitted to u. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread. Ms samulela said under the matrimonial causes act of. According to the 2014 zdhs, child marriage affects more girls than boys child marriage in zambia. In zambia, chief nzamane of the mfumbeni tribe works with the parents of girls who are at risk of being sold for lucrative dowries. Matrimonial causes c in the case of marriages celebrated on or after the 1st day of february, 1989, the consent of either of the parties to the marriage was not a valid consent because i it was obtained by duress or fraud. Globally, one in every five girls is married, or in union, before reaching age 18. The parents indicated that early marriages and teenage pregnancies 44. Education will benefit such parents on the very harmful effects of forced early childhood marriage.
Sudan, uganda, united republic of tanzania, zambia and. Minister of chiefs and traditional affairs nkandu luo. The causes and consequences of early marriage in the amhara. Zambia child marriage research report rise learning network. How advocacy and communications can be used to reduce child marriage in zambia. In terms of ranking the factors that accounted for learner absenteeism, early marriages and. According to le fever, quiroga and murphy 2004 noted that 2050 percent of women in developing countries are marred by the age of 18, with the highest percentages in sub. Zambia in 2004 finds that married girls aged 1519 were 75 percent more likely to. While these causes may be true of africa in general, it is important to examine whether they are the same causes affecting the zimbabwean rural secondary school girl child. Senegal, uganda, and zambia to contribute to greater. Chiefs and traditional affairs minister nkandu luo says teenage pregnancies and early childhood marriages have now reached alarming and. As we learn what leads people to marry their daughters and sons as children, we can address those causes to stop child marriage. The cause and effect of teenage pregnancy in this local government is not as high as it used to be because of socialization and.
I totally agree and this is the time that we urgently need to create a plaform for our girl child to speak against early marriages. Maintaining a marriage is not easy in a society where one out of every two marriages will end in divorce. Zambia has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world and it is widely practised across the country unicef, 2015. New evidence on child marriage causes and solutions plan international. Child marriage, defined as marriage of a child marriage include early marriage and child brides. Digging up the roots of child marriage helps us replant the future for millions of girls around the world. Early marriages should be regarded as a violation of the human rights and the parties involved in this crime should be charged heavily. The country has been ranked 10th on a global ranking of prevalence of early marriages amongst girls and boys.
Early marriage is followed by early divorce for many, so it is not. Early marriages research essay essays and articles. The problem of child marriages a recent parliamentary report on the challenges of child marriages. Statutory law prohibits sexual intercourse with a person below the age of. Early marriage, pregnancy and girl child school dropout. Early marriage is often a forced marriage as it takes place without the. In 2014, zambia signed a joint statement at the human rights council calling for a resolution on child marriage. A forced early marriage arrangement neglects both human rights and individual choice. Studies on divorces in the context of child marriage in indonesia are few and the study presented in this report is an attempt to fill this research gap. Introduction marriage before the age of 18 is a reality for many young women. Dowry the money the brides family pays to the groom is a big factor in child marriage. A situation report on child marriages in zambia world. Tanzania, burkina faso, mali, yemen and zambia all. My testimony will show how and why forced child marriage is a pervasive.
In most cases, early marriages are not good for both sides of the relationships. Then factors which contribute to early marriage among teenagers in rural areas revealed to be. In niger, for example, 77% of women in their early 20s were married as children. Early marriage may be cause by religious beliefs, personal choice, or unplanned pregnancy. In the least developed countries, that number doubles 40 per cent of girls are married before age 18, and 12 per cent of girls are married before age 15. A number of recent reports on child marriage deserve mention, as they offer new data, summarize the range of programs, or frame the issue in new ways. This is because early marriage and pregnancy can be both the cause and consequence of dropping out of. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both formal. This study looks in detail at the causes of child marriage in zambia. Early marriage is a violation of childrens human rights.
Child marriage causes untold suffering to the victims. A qualitative study on the causes and consequences of. While more women are now marrying at late ages, in many regions, early marriage remains the norms. Particularly notable is the vast gender discrepancy. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child marriage. The relationships between early marriage, early pregnancy and school dropout are not linear or simple although early marriage and pregnancy are often anecdotally linked to school dropout, evidence proving a direct and causal link is limited. Baseline report zambia kit royal tropical institute. The causes of early and forced marriage are complex, interrelated and dependent on individual circumstances and context. Early marriages often include some elements of force, otoooyortey and pobi 2003 the lack of an overarching definition of early marriage in international conventions has generated some debate. Early marriage is vague and does not necessarily refer to children. Zambia has been one of the earliest countries that have championed efforts to tackle child marriage.
Child marriage unfpa united nations population fund. 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. The effects of early marriage can vary depending on the age of the individual and the culture, but early marriage poses more problems than benefits for the partners involved. Unfortunately, families often do not know the detrimental effects of early child marriages. The case of chongwe district peggy mwanza university of zambia, zambia abstract this paper discusses the importance of education with speci. Despite being prohibited by international law, it continues to rob millions of girls under 18 around the world of their childhood. House of representatives human rights commissions human rights commission.
Children should be protected from early marriages considering the. Nov 25, 2015 child marriage in africa often ends a girls education, exposes her to domestic violence and grave health risks from early childbearing and hiv, and traps her in poverty, human rights watch said. Ending child marriage in a generation ford foundation. The minister said government is very worried about the rising numbers of teenage pregnancies and early marriages and will spare no effort to see the scourge is abated in the country. Inadequate sex education, peer pressure, conformity, influence of mass media, lack of transparence, shame, traditional milestone, unemployment and globalization. One adolescent returns to school after an early marriage. 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.
Pregnancy at a very tender age can lead to many complications as a girls body will not be ready for childbirth. Early marriages often include some elements of force, otoooyortey and pobi 2003 the lack of an overarching definition of early marriage. A 2017 world bank study estimates that ending child marriage in zambia could. In many cases, a mixture of these causes results in the imprisonment of children in marriages without their consent. The article should have elaborated more on what is in the kenyan act how customary law marriages was rendered statutory. Causes of child marriage child marriage has many causes. Causes and consequences of child marriages in south asia. Ending child marriage in a generation page 3 these programs have taught us a lot about where we should be focusing our efforts to prevent, delay, and mitigate child marriage. It is one of the causes which affect the lives of young girls. Perceptions of early marriage 7 chapter i introduction in 1998, the median age at first marriage was 26. We demonstrate that though some factors can cause an increase in the dropout rate regardless of. In many cases, a mixture of these causes results in the imprisonment of children in marriages. They contract a marriage due to the customs inherent to their ancestors. Empowering our children, both boys and girls at an early age on the dangers and repercessions of child marriages is vitual.
New evidence on child marriage causes and solutions plan. To keep the traditions preserved is one of the primary tasks in many african countries. The attempt in the discourse on how and what to improve in the customary law marriage is exciting though,because we have reasons to change the world of the rights of women in that area. Research from plan international uncovers the factors leading to high levels of child marriage in asia and what can be done to protect girls from early and forced marriages. Child marriage, also referred to as early marriage, is any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18. Child, early and forced marriage is a gross human rights violation which puts girls at risk of violence and ill health, denies them the opportunity to fully contribute to their societies and keeps them locked in a state of poverty. The factors causing early marriages, their attitudes and their effects on womens health. The researcher questions were divided into two sections, section a contains the respondents personal.
Sep 10, 2015 zambia has one of the highest child marriage rates in the world with 42% of women aged 2024 years married by the age of 18. The study identified the cause and effect of teenage pregnancy among teenagers in kontagora local government area of niger state. One of our key priorities is to learn what causes child marriage. It is reported that early marriages significantly impede girls access to education unicef, 2015. The causes of child marriage in zambia are deep rooted, and tied to issues like poverty and lack of opportunity. Adolescent pregnancy in zambia effects of adolescent pregnancy reduces girls opportunities for education,because pregnant girls drop out of school earlier than boys, fewer return to continue their education, and lack of education perpetuates poverty among girls, women, and their families and communities. However, the main negative influence falls on the young girls who are married off at tender ages. Among the many hurdles that children face in zambia is child marriage and.
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