Child marriage: Nigerian women set for showdown with FG

The National Council of Women Societies on Sunday disclosed their readiness to come out in their numbers to protest the marriage of former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Sani, to a 13-year old Egyptian girl.
In a statement made available to our correspondent in Lokoja, the National President of the body, Hajia Ramatu Usman, said the protest had become necessary since the Federal Government had not deemed it fit to investigate and sanction Ahmed.
They berated the government for not standing up to defend the girl’s interest, stating that the government’s silence implied that it approved of Sani’s action.
The NCWS, the umbrella women’s organisation in Nigeria vowed that its members would take to the streets if the government failed to show interest in the matter.
Usman explained that the child bride was likely to become pregnant at an early age and that there was a strong correlation between the age of a mother and maternal mortality.
She said, “Girls of ages l0-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24; and girls aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die. Young mothers face higher risks during pregnancies, including complications such as heavy bleeding, fistula, infection, anaemia and eclampsia, which contribute to higher mortality rates of both mother and child.
“At a young age, a girl has not developed fully and her body may strain under the effort of child birth, which can result in obstructed labour and obstetric fistula. Obstetric fistula can also be caused by the early sexual relations associated with child marriage, which takes place sometimes even before menarche or first menstruation.”
She added, “Due to the limited autonomy or freedom of movement, young wives are not able to negotiate access to health care, unable to access health services because of distance, fear and expense or the need for permission from a spouse or in-laws. These barriers aggravate the risks of maternal complications and mortality for pregnant adolescents.”
Usman stated that the age disparity between a child bride and her husband, in addition to her low economic autonomy, further increased the girl’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
“It exacerbates the abilities of girls and women to make and negotiate sexual decisions, including whether or not to engage in sexual activity, issues relating to the use of contraception and condoms for protecting against HIV infection, and also their ability to demand fidelity from their husbands,” she noted.
While vowing to embark on the protest march, the group pledged that the mass action was not negotiable, because “a majority of Nigerians might begin to follow that same ignoble path Sani is treading if nothing is done urgently by the present administration.”
According to the NCWS, “As mothers, we know it is a huge responsibility for a young girl to become a wife and mother. Because these girls are not adequately prepared for these roles, this heavy burden has a serious impact on their psychological welfare, their perceptions of themselves and also their relationship.
“Also, they are more likely to suffer abuse and violence, with inevitable psychological as well as physical consequences. Violent behaviour can take the form of physical harm, psychological attacks, threatening behaviour and forced sexual acts, including rape; and girls that enter families as brides often become domestic and sex slaves.”

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