Child
marriage according to the United Nations is the formal or informal union
between a girl and a boy before the age of 18. In this part of the world, the child
marriage that we find is the girl child related one where we have a girl below
the age of 18 been married off to a much older man. Usually they refer to girls
that are above 16 year as old virgins.
Mrs
Uwais, who is the special adviser to the Nigerian President on special
protection plan, according to NAN, explains that child bride is the worst kind
of child abuse/violence that you can have perpetrated to the girl child.
According to the Child Right Act 2003, a child cannot give
consent to sex and as we all know sex has to be consensual if not it is
referred to as rape. The fact that a girl child looks physically developed
because she has big breast and buttocks doesn’t make her an adult. The Child
Right Act however, is yet to be adopted in most states in Child
marriage according to the United Nations is the formal or informal union
between a girl and a boy before the age of 18. In this part of the world, the
child marriage that we find is the girl child related where we have a girl
below the age of 18 been married of to a much older man. Usually they refer to
girls that are above 16year as old virgins.
Mrs
Uwais, who is the special adviser to the Nigerian President on special
protection plan, according to NAN, explains that child bride is the worst kind
of child abuse/violence that you can have perpetrated to the girl child.
According to the Child Right Act 2003, a child cannot give consent to
sex and as we all know sex has to be consensual if not it is referred to as
rape. The fact that a girl child looks physically developed because she has big
breast and buttocks doesn’t make her an adult. The Child Right Act
however, is yet to be adopted in most states in Nigeria. The only state in the
Northern part of the country that has adopted the child right act is Kano
State. In other for child bride to end in Nigeria, all Northern states need to
adopt this Child Right Act and pass it into law.
In most
cases the perpetrators of this Act say that they do it in other to
prevent the child from rape, underage sex and teenage pregnancies but they
forget that what is actually being done to the girls is the exact things they
are trying to avoid. The point remains that rape within marriage and pregnancy
of a teenager within marriage is still rape and teenage pregnancy respectively.
According
to the United Nations, 15 million girls get married within a year globally
however, Nigeria has about 40% of this child marriage which is dominantly in
the Northern part of the country. When a girl-child is married off as a child
bride, her childhood is stolen from her. A bride age 13 - 16 is not physically,
psychologically and emotionally ready for the responsibilities of marriage and
child bearing which usually exposes them to health risk such as VVF and death
during child birth. In most cases these girls have to stop their education as a
result of this and as we know, Education is a very important tool in the life
of a girl. If she isn’t educated, then what happens to the child she brings
forth? The circle will continue and poverty will eat deep into the society.
The point here is that a girl child shouldn’t be given out in marriage
as she cannot consent to sex related issues until she is 18 when she is
mentally ready for such responsibilities
.
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