DISCUSSING THE TERRORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY EARLY GIRL-CHILD MARRIAGE IN NIGERIA
According to UNICEF, Nigeria has the third highest absolute number of child brides in the world, with 44% married before they turn 18 and 15% married before the age of 15, with more prevalence in the Northern part of Nigeria than in order parts. In the eastern part of Nigeria most girls are believed to have seen their first menstruation in their husbands' houses.
To begin with, the financial status of a family accounts to why female children are given out in early marriages. Following this is the pressing need to get the bride price in order to cater for the rest of the family. Other reasons for early girl-child marriage include: gender inequality; where girls are believed to be inferior to boys, with the colossal range of doing away with the female child as she adds no value to the family, thereby, betrothing her, getting her bride price and using it to establish the boy child who they believe is more valuable. Also, political ties, cultural norms and religion can be factors of early girl-child marriages. Despite the maximum punishment of five years imprisonment that comes handy with a fine in the Nigerian constitution, most Nigerian cultures and families still carry out this inhumane practice. There is an urgent call for the early girl-child marriage in Nigeria to be critically looked into with urgent need for total eradication.
Also, it is believed that the honor of a family is attached to the virginity of their female children, and in order to preserve the family's honor and pride, and also in a bid to protect her from the rampant female harassment, they marry off the girl-child before she even gets to discover herself. This singular act deprives the child of enjoying the benefits of childhood, restricting her and taking away her natural privileges of being a child that she is. Upon getting to her husband's house, she begins to take upon herself marital duties that are way beyond her age, young shoulders, and still-developing brains, thus, imposing on her the pressure and stress of doing things right to please her new family members; an expectation which is higher than what is expected of other children her age. In other words, this can be compared with the case of an employer who needs a fresh graduate for employment, with 7 years working experience. The girl child in this case is used as a bait to protect the family's honor and prestige.
In lieu of this, the early girl-child marriage comes hand-in-hand with psychological trauma. Early girl-child marriage creates social structures in which girls are often exposed to prolonged abuse, abuses of power, dependence on abusers, betrayal, entrapment, and helplessness, therefore are particularly at risk of developing complex trauma (Ajumobi 2014). Also, trying to put up with co-wives, early motherhood, difficulty in relating with their husbands, as well as the restrictions and confinement placed on married women, thus depriving her of the ability of socializing with peers and stripping her of her educational rights is daunting, and can equally lead to psychological trauma. Post traumatic stress makes the child age fast, introduce health issues, ranging from loose bladders or bowels, to helplessness, and sometimes violence. Due to lack of consent on her part the child is faced with lack of self-worth and integrity which heightens the inferiority imposed on her by the society, thereby exposing her to more psychological trauma.
In addition, post-traumatic disorder which includes violence, is a major factor that changes the entirety of a girl-child's personality, thereby making her a perpetrator of heavy crimes like murder, as seen in the recent case of the 18-year old girl, who was married to a man she later killed, stating that her reason for doing that was because she never knew sex was a marital obligation, and also in the case of another 13-year old Northern girl, who set her husband ablaze because he slept with her constantly. Lack of knowledge of marital responsibilities have rendered many young brides helpless. Traumatic stress is one of the biggest effects of the early girl-child marriage.
Furthermore, aside the emotional and psychological trauma caused by early-girl child marriages, the girl child is exposed to physical mutilation and intentionally-inflicted physical deformities by husbands or family members. This can be as a result of her inability to carry out her marital duties properly, or as a result of plans of escape, or relating with friends (when she gets the little opportunity to),especially the male ones. This can be explained further in the case of one Hauwa Abubakar, a 12-year old girl whose husband amputated her legs because she tried to escape for the third time. Mutilation in all early marriages render the once attractive and vibrant girl-child almost useless, cutting her into bits, both physically and psychologically, and showing her the path that leads to her untimely old age, dimming her beauty, intelligence and activeness.
Proper education, as well as properly-sought valid consent, are fundamental rights of every human being. Early marriage takes these privileges away from married young female children, thereby infringing on their fundamental rights. Marrying off a girl-child is like nipping a blossoming flower in it's bud. This act brings an abrupt end to their education, with no hope of furtherance. As a result, early marriage comes with lack of the consent of the child, as the child whose opinion is not asked is pushed into a lifetime confinement. Speaking about consent, adults are much more associated with this concept, as they have the power to control their thoughts and decisions, but in the case of a still-developing girl-child, her decisions(if she is allowed to decide) would be influenced by those older than her and those she trusts, and these are people who want the marriage for her. As expected, the result of her decision would be consenting to the marriage. The idea of a fresh graduate seeking advice from an armed robber as to whether he should or should not join the game of robbery, since there are no befitting jobs in the country, is the best illustration for this "seeking-the-girl-child's-opinion" case.
The general conception about marriage to many Nigerians is mainly about the production of off springs. This is the only proof of fertility, and the woman is blamed if children do not come immediately after marriage. As a norm, the young bride is expected to bear children in order to protect her identity and status as a married woman, and thus exposing her to numerous health issues, which include; cervical cancer due to the excess pressure placed on the tender cervix, loose bladder and bowels which can result to bed-wetting, sexually transmitted diseases as a result of having sex with her husband, who has multiple sex partners, inability to give birth on her own, thereby subjecting her under the pains of the surgeon's knives.
Reference to this point can be made to the movie produced by a prominent Nigerian Actress, Stephanie Okereke, titled "Dry." A story that tells the travails of a growing girl-child who was a result of rape, was left by her mother, and was eventually married off early by her foster parents
Amidst the suffering, the thought of returning home to their parents would not suffice, as divorce is highly prohibited in such marriages. For the young girls who were able to escape, research has confirmed that more than half of them do not return to their parents.
Undoubtedly, the early girl-child marriage in Nigeria is an inhumane practice that places the girl- child as a gambit for protecting the family name, as well as exposing her to health issues both mentally and emotionally, strips off her, her educational and childhood privileges, and subjects her to carrying the burdens of marital responsibilities. If as a result of the weak enforcement of the law regarding this practice, it continues, then, Nigeria would be filled with girls who do not have identities, those who were cheated and are mentally derailed, with more young female murderers flooding Nigerian prisons in droves, while others would bid time until death made its final call. In order to avert these, Parents should resist the urge of marrying off their daughters before the lawfully recognised marriageable age of 21 and above.
Nwaozor Gift Victoria
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